Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl
by Amras Felagund
Summary: This is the tale of a man who breaks the fate of a universe torn by the endless cycle of violence. Give common sense the boot and go beyond the impossible! Touch the untouchable! Break the unbreakable! Raw! Raw! Fight the power! Sonic plus Gurren Lagann.
1. Introduction

_(Well, this came outta nowhere. I am sorry to say that this fic may well be my last here on . I'm going to be honest: fanfiction writing is rather tedious. And seeing as my classes for the remainder of college will likely involve intensive writing, I see no reason in writing in a leisurely fashion._

_In any case, here is my swan song here on EffEffDotNet. This came to me suddenly, and I felt the need to write it. I own neither the premise nor the characters. Enjoy!)_

**INTRODUCTION: Nemesis**

The interstellar void was torn with war.

The hairline bolts of plasma shared between the Hellship and its seemingly infinite adversaries, which generated swelling clouds of hellfire that threatened to engulf the Hellship, were powerful enough to vaporize a planet. This adversary had already destroyed their homeworld of Möbius in their first gambit to silence these individuals.

But the renegades aboard had no fear. Their fighting spirit - and their deflector shields - would protect them from any danger.

The bridge of the Hellship was a flurry of orders being shouts back and forth, calls of panic or victory as they chipped away at their mountain of a foe. Their Captain had taken leave for the time being, to prepare the final barrage that he said would defeat their foe in a decisive blast. Only his Adjutant seemed to know what he was planning, and he kept silent on the matter.

The Adjutant, who oversaw the bridge activity in the Captain's absence, was a strange individual. The only people who seemed to know where he came from were the core founding members of their organization. Any attempts to ask who he was before were met with silence. But the Adjutant was, as far as anyone could tell, comprised almost entirely of water, but for a _brain_ floating in the middle of his head. A metallic visor with a glowing line running across it covered whatever eyes he may have had, and also doubled as a vocabulator, allowing him to give orders or speak with the Captain.

Their foe's latest barrage had penetrated the Hellship's defenses, sending many fine officers floating out into the killing vacuum of space. The ship was old - far older than anyone present - but held up surprisingly well.

Still, no sense in letting it get too damaged.

That was the reasonable thought process of one of the highest-ranking officers, on the bridge...

"Activate screening shield, class 8!" shouted Science Chief Walrus, one of the oldest in their band, who was there almost from the beginning of the resistance. His age was beginning to show in a droop in his whiskers.

"The mirror armor plating is dissolving!" called out Colonel St. John. The skunk was still a hardy man, but like Science Chief Walrus, there was a slight list to his whiskers that told anyone who looked at him that age was catching up to him.

"Block number 3628 has been destroyed!" said Commander Echidna. He was a few years older than the Captain, but a junior member to the Commander. He was still relatively young, but he complained of his age becoming more obvious to him by the day.

"Damage?" asked their bio-computer, who was in a past life the dictator and defender of Möbius. Now, reduced to a head to access the memories and experiences of its past self, it served as a liaison into the Hellship's operating systems.

"Minimal, but the turbines are spinning erratically now!" Commander Echidna called back. If the battle did not turn fast, the rebellion would not last much longer. The Captain had gotten them out of many pinches before - single-handedly, most times - but his presence was needed badly.

"Stand fast, men!"

And that's when the bridge went silent.

Standing by the door was the Captain. Looking back and forth to see that everyone strode in, his mechanical legs whirring and clinking as he strode to stand beside the Adjutant.

The Captain was an intimidating figure, if only for the way he carried himself. When he looked in your eyes, one could see a mad devotion to go forward that you couldn't help but fall in line with. If you got in the Captain's way, he would stomp you to the curb and keep advancing. He would do the same if you threatened one of his friends as well; being hardened to loss did not make him more callous to his men, but strengthened his resolve to see that they were alive and well at the end of the battle. Several star systems had learned this the hard way, as he played them like a mad orchestra in his quest to defeat this interdimensional menace. Many planets were razed to cinders by the Hellship under his command. If it meant pushing the enemy out of the star system, or protecting his comrades, what was the price really but the population and habitability of a single planet?

He was also one of the founding members, and the most senior member of the Great Freedom Fighters onboard the Hellship. And in terms of level of power, he was unmatched by anyone on their side... or on the enemy's. Some enemy vessels that dwarfed stars were destroyed by his trump card.

Freedom Emerl.

First the symbol of the freedom of Möbius before their interstellar foe made its presence known, now it was the emblem of destruction across the galaxy and beyond.

"Stand fast," the Captain repeated. "We'll teach them a lesson. In exactly who they're dealing with!"

"Enemy fleet size is off the charts, sir!" said Ensign Mongoose, who was relatively new to their group. She blanched at the readout in front of her, which was so cluttered with enemy signatures that it was almost entirely white with malicious blips.

The adjutant turned to face the stars. The enemy had ramped up their assault just as the Captain entered the bridge, as though they sensed the impending attack signified by his arrival. Every visible star appeared to go supernova at once, but the adjutant knew that these were energy attacks from the enemy's nigh-infinite battleships exploding against their shields.

"Are all the lights in the heavens... our enemy?" he mused, more to himself than anyone, his vocabulator expressing his awe and slight tinge of fear.

"They aren't worthy to be called our opponents," scoffed the Captain, tossing his Core Drill in the palm of his right hand.

The adjutant faced the Captain, very stiff. A pregnant pause filled the air.

The Captain clenched the Core Drill in his hand, a mad grin crossing his face.

"I'll take the fabric of space-time itself and wring 'em all out of existence!"

If possible, the bridge went even more silent. Even the battle outside seemed to go quiet, as though even the enemy itself was fearful of the Captain's proclamation.

As the Captain strode to the forefront of the bridge, the Adjutant paused.

_Should I go through with this?_ he thought, something he was still unused to. He had only evolved to this form six months ago, and being capable of higher, abstract thinking was something he still marveled at._ Theoretically, this could cause more destruction than just this star system._

After a moment, he sighed to himself.

_I suppose he wants to be reunited that badly. But still, he's led us this far without leading us astray._

The Adjutant beckoned the bridge crew with his hand.

"Prepare the Maelstrom and Mega Vortex Cannons! Fire off the fore and aft Dimensional Anchors and target the dimensional rifts they create! Let's end this conflict... ONCE AND FOR ALL!"

There was a brief pause, as the Great Freedom Fighters processed this battle plan.

"YEAH!" came the unanimous reply. The Captain was a charismatic figure, and had protected them so long, that his orders could not be questioned.

The Captain raised the small drill made entirely from emerald in his right hand, pointing it towards the heavens.

"FREEDOM EMERL! SPIN START!"

The Core Drill glowed like a green sun. Beneath him, the Hellship hummed even louder as the Super Spiral Engine activated.

A maniacal grin crossed his face as he turned to face his enemy.

The Great Interdimensional Soleanna.

And shouted the words that always inspired the members of the Great Freedom Fighters to continue to push forward, to continue to advance, to continue to live.

"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM?"

The Hellship's Dimensional Anchors fired.

The Interdimensional Soleanna forces converged and coalesced into a singular shape that spanned from the end of one galactic arm to another, a pair of titanic wings framing a star larger than the sun from their perspective, but easily as large as the galactic center.

The Captain laughed. And only laughed.

"In just a minute, this drill will open a hole in the universe!" he shouted at Soleanna. "And it will carve a path of destruction for a new beginning! That's what I call piercing the heavens! And my drill is the drill that pierces the heavens! No matter what kinda crap you pull, I will always believe..." The Core Drill glowed still brighter, to the point that even the light-filtration devices in the Adjutant's visor were insufficient, and everyone on the bridge looked away, but the Captain did not look away even as his own eyes were burned out of their sockets by his own power. "...that this drill... IS MY SOUL!"

The Dimensional Anchors retracted, and as soon as they were free, the Hellship's eyes flashed, firing off the Maelstrom and Mega Vortex Cannons into the resulting rifts.

The sound of pulling heaven down rent the air about them. Nearly everyone's ears began bleeding from the sound, but the Captain's did not so much as twitch as his lifeblood poured out his sensitive fox ears to join his liquidated eyes.

The Adjutant thought, _I see. He does want to win that badly. And he wants to have one last great story to tell in the hall of heroes._

And in that instant that the dimensional rifts between the dimensions were torn open by the Hellship's blasts, all the lights in the heavens were sucked into the resultant singularity, along with Soleanna, which gave off one last roar of defiance before collapsing into itself and dying, and the Hellship itself and everyone on it, along with every whirling galaxy in outer space.

The Great Freedom Fighters had defeated their greatest enemy...

By destroying the universe.

**天元突破**  
**フリーダムエメル  
Tengen Toppa  
Freedom Emerl**

**by**

**アムラス・フェラグンド  
Amras Felagund**

Next time on _Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl_:

_**"Yours is the Drill that will Break Through Heaven!"**_


	2. Chapter 1

_(Right on to chapter one!)_

**CHAPTER ONE:  
Yours is the Drill that will Break Through Heaven!**

"Ew, look. It's Tails the Digger."

"What's the fun in getting covered in dirt day after day?"

"He's carrying something weird. Is it something he dug up?"

"He's gross."

"And he smells."

"Oh! He's looking this way! Let's get outta here quick, before he _drills a hole_ in us, too."

The pestering girls squealed at the innuendo made by the red fox girl at their head, and the orange two-tailed fox boy hung his head in misery.

And he had been feeling so pleased with himself, too. He had dug up a small drill made entirely out of emerald today that glimmered _very brightly_ in the light - more than it looked like it should have - and had just finished fashioning it into a pendant to wear around his neck.

Plus, Chief Ivo would probably cook him up some pig-mole steaks for the good digging that he had done. Their village needed to expand, and the chief needed good diggers. So, good diggers were rewarded with hearty meals.

But, Tails thought as he drug his feet down the tunnel, why was he surprised that no one gave him the time of day? He _was_ covered in dirt all the time, except for the circles around his eyes from his digging goggles, and he rarely had time to bathe because of his constant digging.

No one cared for him. No one believed in him.

"Walk with your head held high, Tails!"

Except this person whom Tails had just bumped into. Literally.

Looking up, Tails saw a blue hedgehog with green eyes hidden behind red-tinted, pointed shades. Intricate tattoos lined his arms and chest. The way he carried himself, though, was what Tails admired most about him. It was a certain carefreeness, to go where the wind would take him, that the fox boy really looked up to. He really wished he could live life like that, that he could become like Sonic The Hedgehog.

Even in his current state of gloom, Tails couldn't help but smile. "Sonic?"

Sonic lifted his shades, casting a grin at Tails. "Yep, that's me! The one and only Sonic The Hedgehog! Your legendary big bro!"

Tails shook his head a little, his smile wavering. "Sonic, you know I don't have any blood siblings..."

Suddenly, Tails felt Sonic smack a hand across his back. "Like that matters, big guy! We're soul brothers, siblings of the spirit. Blood doesn't matter when it comes to brotherhood. Anyway, don't listen to what those chicks have to say. Like they know what it's like for you..." Sonic's eternal grin faltered for a moment, and Tails thought he saw Sonic's eyes darken for a moment, but then the blue hedgehog hitched his grin back.

"That looks good on you, big guy," Sonic said, fingering the small emerald drill pendant Tails was wearing.

Tails's smile returned in full force. "Really? I just dug this thing up, and I decided I liked it and made a pendant out of it."

"It's a perfect match for you, Tails," Sonic said. "This drill is your soul." Then Sonic drew himself up to his full height and dramatically pointed toward the artificial lights in the ceiling. "Yours is the drill that will break through heaven!" His shout echoed through the tunnel, and Tails worried that Chief Ivo would overhear Sonic's hot-blooded overture.

"Why?" he asked.

"I have it all figured out! Don't ask for a reason."

"Meaning you can't explain it."

If Sonic heard this, he didn't show it.

"Now, come with me," he said.

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

In the pig-mole pen, Sonic led Tails into the pen. Waiting for them were a purple weasel, a yellow squirrel, and a turtle.

Sonic's fellow Freedom Fighters.

"Sorry for the delay, fellas!" Sonic said to them. "Is everything ready here?"

"You bet!" grinned the weasel.

"We're r-ready when you are," said the squirrel, looking a little timid.

The turtle just nodded; apparently, he couldn't add anything that hadn't already been said.

"What are you doing?" Tails asked, but he knew it was a stupid question. He already knew the answer.

"What do you think, Tails? We're making to break out again."

"Where? To the surface?"

"Where else?" Sonic said, leaning into Tails and pointing at Tails's drill pendant. "That drill of yours doesn't belong to Chief Eggman. It's a sign of who you are."

"But does the 'surface' even exist?" Tails asked, looking at his feet. "Last time we did this, we nearly got caved in and--..."

Tails said the wrong thing. Sonic grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him.

"Of _course_ the surface exists!" Sonic shouted, and Tails's sensitive fox ears rang. "I was there with my dad, but..." Sonic grit his teeth, sighed, then grinned widely again. "Look, there's gotta be something other than living in this dark Knothole Village all your life, right? Something more than digging further and further down, right? How about digging _up_ for a change? There's gotta be a world with no ceiling to worry about falling on you, and no walls to keep you from running as far and as fast as you want? A world where you can live under a bright blue sky without a care in the world..." He nodded at Tails. "Right?"

"I... I guess."

"Alright, you bozos!" Tails wasn't even aware of the fact that Sonic had let go of him until he heard Sonic's shout, and saw the tattooed blue hedgehog standing before his small band of rebels.

Sonic paused, and turned to Tails. "Tails?"

"Oh! Right." Tails stood with the other Freedom Fighters.

"Alright, you bozos!" Sonic started again. "Let's do it to it!"

"YEAH!" the weasel, the squirrel, and the turtle put their fists in the air.

"We are the invincible Freedom Fighters! Nothing, no rock wall, no chief, no _nothing_ is gonna stand in our way for long!"

"Y-yeah!" Tails noticed how the others were not quite as enthusiastic as Sonic was, but certainly more enthused than he himself was. This was not the first time Sonic had dragged him into one of his crazy schemes to get to this 'surface' which he seemed so sure was real. And Tails had a feeling that this would not be the last.

Sonic continued, "We're sick and tired of living in this cramped village! It's time to break out! Youth of Knothole Village..." Then Sonic broke past his fellow Freedom Fighters, and leapt onto one of the pig-moles, pointing forward. "...AIM FOR THE SURFACE!"

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

The stampede caught the village by surprise. The fact that the pig-moles, their primary source of food, had broken free, caught them by surprise.

What didn't surprise them was that Sonic The Hedgehog of the Freedom Fighters was responsible. He had made so many bids to escape Knothole that it was a miracle that he hadn't gotten himself buried under a pile of rocks somewhere.

"YAHOO!" Sonic's cheers came from the pig-mole in the lead of the pack, his three other companions on pig-moles behind him, holding on for dear life. Tails was crouched down in front of him, clutching his digging drill. When one pig-mole ran, his companions were inclined to follow him. That was how they were herded into their pens in the first place, and that was how Sonic took advantage of this plan.

Tails was terrified, mostly because he thought he was going to die from how fast something as big and fat as a pig-mole was able to run, but also because Sonic still didn't explain how he fit into all this, and why it entailed himself lying on his stomach on the lead pig-mole's back, his digging drill held ahead of the lead pig-mole's snout, while Sonic sat beside him like some mad rider.

"MOVE OUT OF THE WAY! FREEDOM FIGHTERS COMING THROUGH!" Sonic called out to anyone who was in the path of the stampede. It turned out to be redundant, because you would have to be crazy to stand in front of a horde of agitated pig-moles as they barged through the village.

Behind Tails, Sonic signalled for the three other Freedom Fighters to take a group of pig-moles and take the opposing ramp up to the next level of Knothole Village.

"Wh-what are we doing, Sonic?" Tails asked over the din.

"Listen up, Tails! This is the plan!" Sonic pointed towards the Canopy. "We're gonna use that drill of yours and bust through that ceiling! And after that, the next stop is the surface!"

"Th-That's your plan? How are we gonna reach the Canopy?"

"The pig-moles will get us there! They'll be going fast enough when they hit that they'll carry us straight through the Canopy! All you gotta do is spin your drill, Tails!"

"What if this doesn't work?"

"Of course it will!" Tails heard the mad grin in Sonic's voice. "Who the hell do you think I am?"

A small blue blur landed in front of Tails. A flash of angry black shades met him. "Chao!"

"When did you...?" It was Tails's pet Chao, Kukku. He was like any other Chao other than his shades.

Before Tails knew it, he saw the other herd of pig-moles directly ahead, _charging straight towards him_. His heart was suddenly pounding somewhere in his throat.

"Keep going! At this rate, we'll be on the surface before dinner!" Sonic's shouts rang out.

Another peculiarity of pig-mole psychology was their tendency to form towers when two large herds collided. This was exactly what happened when the two aggravated groups of pig-moles met on the second-highest level of Knothole Village. At the peak were a hot-blooded blue hedgehog with pointed red shades and a terrified orange two-tailed fox with digging drill and goggles.

What Sonic wasn't counting on was a portly but intimidating man with a radish nose, wearing black pants, bifocals, and a frustrated, red-faced look. A sheathed katana in hand.

"OLGILVIE! YOU AGAIN?" shouted Chief Ivo. Tails felt Sonic wince at his real name.

"Outta the way, Chief Eggman!" Sonic shouted back.

Chief Ivo pulled back his katana.

"YOU LITTLE IDIOT!" he roared, striking Sonic across the head with the katana. It was just enough to knock the hedgehog from the tower of pig-moles, and Tails fell off with him, and with the lead pig-mole's source of agitation now dismounted, it went slack and fell, as did all the other pig-moles.

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

"Will you punks get it through your thick skulls?" Chief Ivo shouted at the small band of Freedom Fighters. Tails felt extremely guilty; he was the Chief's most prized digger, and here he is, getting himself wrapped up in another of Sonic's crazy "aim for the surface" schemes.

"This so-called 'surface' of yours doesn't exist!"

"Like hell it doesn't!" Sonic shouted back, a nerve touched. He looked up, reminiscence in his eyes. His shades had been lost in the fall. "I've seen it! On the surface, there are no walls and no ceiling! Instead, all you see is a bright blue sky!"

Chief Ivo leaned in so that his nose was practically touching Sonic's.

"I see," said Chief Ivo. "So a liar's son is a liar, too."

"What?"

"Jules did nothing but spout crap about 'surfaces' and 'skies' and other nonsense like that. And where is he now? Nobody knows, but most likely dead! Buried under some pile of rocks somewhere!"

"YOU'RE WRONG!" Sonic's face was wrought with emotion. "MY DAD MADE IT TO THE SURFACE! I WAS THERE WITH HIM!"

Chief Ivo grinned, his bifocals shining. "So why are you still here, then?"

"W-well..."

For the first time in his life, Tails saw Sonic was speechless.

"Listen, you kids," Chief Ivo stood up again, addressing the Freedom Fighters in general. "You would do well to remember that this village is all we have. It has been part of village tradition for centuries to never unseal the sacred Canopy, or to dig any tunnels leading above it. Punks who don't understand that don't get to eat." He leered at the Freedom Fighters. "Into the stockades! Without dinner!"

The weasel, squirrel, and turtle tensed up immediately, before dropping to their knees and bowing until their noses touched the earthen floor.

"We're very sorry, sir!"

"YOU _WEASELS_!" Sonic shouted at them, although, technically, one of them was already a weasel.

Chief Ivo smirked at Sonic as he unfastened the handcuffs on the weasel, squirrel, and turtle.

"We're sorry, Sonic," murmured the turtle, wearing a tentative smile.

"But no food is a pretty steep price," said the weasel.

"Come on, Sonic, you apologise, too, and you can eat, too," said the squirrel.

Sonic loomed over them. "Don't talk to me, you traitors. You're just a bunch of weaselly cowards. I don't consider you Freedom Fighters anymore!"

"I see the bonds of loyalty don't run too strongly in this 'Freedom Fighters' thing of yours," sneered Chief Ivo. Then his expression softened - very slightly. "Come along, Miles."

Tails was so unused to hearing the name his parents gave him that it took him a moment to realize Chief Ivo was addressing him.

"I know that Olgilvie roped you into this. You have an important job here in Knothole Village, drilling out tunnels for the village to expand. So, follow me. You want some pig-mole steaks, right?"

Tails glanced at Sonic out of the corner of his eye. "But I--..."

"Go."

Turning in disbelief, Tails did not believe that Sonic said that, until he saw Sonic say, "It's alright. You can go."

Tails was hesitant to just leave Sonic, but before he could make any decision one way or the other...

The village began to rumble.

All at once, all the villagers' activity ceased, and an air of panic began to permeate the tunnels.

"I-It's an earthquake!" cried Chief Ivo, before turning to the villagers and shouting at the top of his lungs. "EVERYONE, GET TO YOUR SHELTERS!"

Earthquakes did not happen regularly or with much warning, and sometimes it was only the least noticeable of tremors, or it was a tremendous shock; earthquakes sometimes lasted a few seconds, or they could go on for hours. As such, several tunnels and chambers were reinforced to prevent collapses. Following Chief Ivo's warning, no one needed telling twice.

No one except Sonic.

"Sonic, let's get out of here!" Tails shouted, clinging to Sonic's arm.

He didn't so much as budge.

"SONIC!" Tails screamed

"No." Sonic's face was deadset with anger. "I never run away from anything."

Voices and sounds echoed in Tails's mind.

_"Tails! GO!"_

_"Sweetie, stay back!"_

_"Mom! Dad! NOOOoooo...!"_

_The sound of falling rocks... The crunch of cracking bones..._

"IF WE DON'T RUN, WE'RE GONNA GET CRUSHED!" Tails shrieked, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes.

Sonic's grit faltered, and he stared at Tails as though he hadn't being seeing him properly until then.

"Oh right," Sonic raised his arms, which were still shackled together at the wrists, allowing Tails in. "I almost forgot what happened to you." As soon as Tails wrapped his arms around Sonic's waist, Sonic brought his arms down. "See? It's already slowing down."

So it was. This was one of those shorter earthquakes. Tails loosened his grasp around Sonic's waist, though his relief was short-lived.

"Are you people gonna live in fear of earthquakes day after day for the rest of your life?" Sonic shouted out to the people who were doubtlessly emerging from the shelters. Tails looked around, and saw that this was the case. Again, he was stuck in the area when Sonic was doing his whole "there is a world where you don't have to worry about rocks falling on your heads" schtick. "UP ON THE SURFACE, THERE AIN'T A CEILING TO FALL ON YOU, OR WALLS TO CAGE YOU IN!"

The silence that greeted them gave Tails pause. Did Sonic convince them?

"WILL YOU GIVE IT A REST ALREADY?" roared Chief Ivo, face going red as he shook his katana in the air.

Apparently not.

"I DIDN'T RAISE YOU ORPHANS OUT OF THE GOODNESS OF MY HEART! I DID IT BECAUSE I'M THE CHIEF! I HAVE TO LOOK OUT FOR THE WELFARE OF THE VILLAGERS! BUT IF YOU WON'T DO WHAT I SAY, _THERE'S NO PLACE FOR YOU HERE!_"

_Sonic's really done it this time_, Tails thought.

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

_I really did it this time_, Sonic thought, his hands tied to the pole in the middle of a cell. _Eggman's never locked me up in a cell before. He'd keep me hungry for a few days - a week that time we got caught in a cave-in - but I wasn't locked up before._

"Chao-chao."

Sonic looked up, and saw Tails's Chao Kukku floating in front of him.

"What are you doing in here?" he asked.

Kukku landed on the ground and said, "Chao!"

Sonic did not understand Chao-speak, but assumed he came to comfort Sonic in his time in the slammer.

Sonic chuckled, grabbing Kukku between his feet.

"There's a good boy," he smirked. "I got me some emergency rations now."

**!**

The ball floating over Kukku's head turned into an '!', whatever that meant. "Chao-chao-cha-cha-chao!"

"I was just kidding."

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

Tails was back to digging, but it was difficult to focus on where he was digging with thoughts of Sonic in a cell. He would have to avoid contact with Sonic for a while to appease Chief Ivo and avoid any sort of repurcussions such as food deprivation. Before Tails knew it, he was back in the tunnel he found his drill pendant in, and extending the tunnel past where he found the small drill of emerald.

The reason that Tails dug so constantly, was because he had nothing else. His mother and father, Rosemary and Amadeus, had died in a cave-in when he was seven. Tails knew that no matter how many tunnels he dug, eventually, all of Knothole Village would experience a massive cave-in, and he and the chief and Sonic and everyone would all die.

That was a given, he thought. That was a fact of life.

...or was it?

Tails's drill stopped abruptly, and he nearly drove his head into the handle. Lifting his digging goggles up, Tails drilled away some earth around the obstruction, assuming it to be just a large rock...

And saw a gleaming blue eye set in a yellow face.

Suddenly, his drill pendant began to pulse with a green light. The exposed eye flashed green in the same rhythm.

Gasping, his heart beating rapidly, Tails spun his drill into the dirt and, after fifteen minutes of digging, had carved out a small room around the discovery.

Taking in the sight before him, Tails immediately put his digging drill into the earth and spun it. He had to show this to Sonic.

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

It was nearing time for lights-out, and Ivo was glad for it. A bullhorn in hand, he sighed wearily to himself at the day he had experienced. First, that Olgilvie Hedgehog brat tried to break out again, roping Miles Prower, his best digger, into the escape attempt _again_, and then the earthquake, and then Olgilvie attempting to rouse dissent against him, the village chief, who raised him and Miles and the other orphans when he didn't really have to. It was enough to make him want to... no. They were his villagers, and as annoying as it could be to look after them, it was his obligation to his lineage to look after these people. Keeping them in line was a necessary sacrifice; it was grating on his nerves to have to keep the punks away from the Canopy, but it was necessary to appease the higher powers.

Ivo looked up at the Canopy, and a thought flickered across his mind that perhaps there was some greater life waiting for Knothole Village over it...

No. Ivo would not think that way. How could one uppity young man possibly know something that generations of Chiefs did not? His grandfather Gerald was one of the most brilliant Chiefs in Knothole's history, and he felt that there was nothing worth knowing of over the canopy.

Ivo turned his thoughts to the present. Raising his bullhorn to his mouth, he began slamming his sheathed katana against the ramp as he walked down to the lowest level of the hub of Knothole Village.

"Lights out! Lights out, everyone!" he shouted. As soon as he said it, lights across the village began to intermittently shut out. "It's now nighttime hours! Lights out, people! Don't waste precious electricity!"

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

Sonic was getting woozy, and in his delirious half-sleep, he thought that the Chao named Kukku was actually a pig-mole, so he began to mumble, "Grow up into a big juicy steak for me..."

Kukku, trapped between Sonic's crossed legs, had long given up struggling to get out, the ball over his head having changed into a swirling spiral, demonstrating his discomfort.

The sound of shifting dirt woke Sonic up, who unconsciously spread his legs apart and allowed Kukku to escape, which turned out to be lucky, because no sooner did Kukku flit to the level of Sonic' head than a digging drill emerged, followed by a dirt-covered fox with two tails.

Tails really was a good digger if he knew where to dig that wouldn't pierce Sonic's private zone.

"Sonic!" he said, beaming as he pulled his digging goggles to the top of his head.

"Tails? What's the damage?"

"There's something I just dug up that you gotta see! Hurry!"

Sonic glanced at his bound hands. "Uhh, Tails, I don't wanna break this to you, but that would kinda be a jailbreak."

Then he casually pulled his hands apart, the rope tearing like wet tissue. Sonic stood over the stunned Tails, and smirked.

"Let's rock and roll."

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

As it turned out, the tunnel Tails had dug was too small for Sonic, so Tails had to dig a hole through the wall of Sonic's cell to get him out. Tails led him around the edge of the hub of Knothole Village to the tunnels Tails and the other diggers were making today. It was dark because it was nighttime hours, and everyone was supposed to be asleep. It was no problem for Tails to find his way through the village; even in the light, he had been wandering the halls long enough to know the directions he had to take to get to where the tunnels were.

"Y'know, Tails, Chief Eggman's gonna get hardboiled if he finds out about this breakout," Sonic said.

"I was so excited that I didn't even stop to think about that." And it was true. In all the excitement of his latest discovery, he was consumed with showing this find to Sonic and forgot about the events of the day.

"Well, if we get back before the daytime hours and you fix up that cell wall, Eggman doesn't need to know. So, what was it you had to show me so badly that you had to bust me outta the slammer?"

"A face!" Sonic perked up at this; Tails spread his arms apart to show how large it was. "This awesome, humongous face!"

They prepared to turn down the corridor leading to the tunnels being dug that day...

When the lights switched on, and they were met with the vein-poppingly angry face of Chief Ivo.

"You have some nerve breaking out of jail, Olgilvie!" he growled, leaning on his katana.

Sonic pointed. "Tails, don't tell me _this _is that humongous face you wanted to show me."

Tails shook his head vigorously.

"DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME!" roared Chief Ivo, and Tails nearly leapt out of his skin. "I'm the Chief of this village, so that means I stand guard at nights, too!"

Suddenly, he rounded on Tails, who felt quite small and guilty under the Chief's glare.

"And Miles! Don't think I don't know about all those tunnels you've been digging in secret!"

"Leave him out of this."

It was quite warm in the tunnels, but Tails felt a chill in his fur when Sonic stepped forward and held out a hand to block Chief Ivo from getting near Tails.

"He doesn't have anything to do with this," which was a bold-faced lie, but Sonic kept a straight face. This was another reason Tails admired Sonic; Sonic did so much to keep him out of trouble, when Tails didn't think he was worth even half of Sonic's efforts. "I'm the guilty party here."

"Oh, I know exactly how guilty you are!" snarled Chief Ivo, before bringing up his katana and smacking the sheath against Sonic's arms, right and left, then striking him in the middle of the forehead. Tails winced with each impact, but Sonic did not so much as blink. He just kept up his stern look of disapproval at Chief Ivo's irritation at Tails.

_Why does Sonic think I'm worth getting hurt over?_ Tails thought. _All I do is dig._

Chief Ivo raised his katana for another swing at Sonic...

And lost his footing with the greatest tremor ever experienced in Knothole Village. All around the village, scores of people - human and anthro alike - awoke with a start.

Cracks appeared in the Canopy overhead.

Then fissures.

Then light as bright as any artificial light, but orange.

And then, with a great shake that made Tails's teeth rattle, the Canopy broke.

And something fell into Knothole Village, breaking through each bridge crisscrossing each level of the hub as though it were not there. Fortunately, no one was about, seeing as it was nighttime hours.

With a crash, and the kicking up of clouds of loose dirt, the Something landed in the middle.

When it cleared - which took long enough for almost all of Knothole Village to gather around and see what had fallen into their lives - it revealed something that made Tails freeze.

It was a horned skull, frozen in a snarl. It had little arms and legs but no body. It was on its side.

A crimson glint appeared at Sonic's feet. His pointed shades had been recovered by the Something falling in.

"So Tails, this big mug you wanted to show me..." He put his shades back on with a grin. "Is _this _it?"

Tails shook his head vigorously.

**つづく**

**To be continued...**

* * *

次回予告

Next Episode Preview

A man's journey is all about kicking common sense out and going beyond the impossible! Let's go, big guy! The surface is calling to us!

Next time on _Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl_: _**"Bust through the Heavens with your Drill!"**_


	3. Chapter 2

_(I meant to finish and post Chapter One the day after the Introduction, but family issues came up and work was pushed back a little. Here's Chapter Two!_

_Oh, and happy 30th anniversary to _The Empire Strikes Back_, y'all!)_

"This is the tale of a man who has yet to realize what his destiny is.

"Sonic The Hedgehog and Miles 'Tails' Prower live in an underground village.

"After his failed attempt to escape from Knothole, Sonic is thrown into jail.

"Tails breaks Sonic out to reveal something he had dug up.

"Just as Chief Ivo is going to severely punish Sonic for jailbreak, a large metallic face falls into Knothole Village, shattering their daily routine..."

**CHAPTER TWO:  
Bust through the Heavens with your Drill!**

Sonic pointed up into the shining hole where the Canopy used to be.

"See _that_?" he said, a wide grin on his face. "That's the surface! What did I tell you? There _is_ a surface, and this big face fell from the surface! From above the ceiling! Ain't that right, Eggman?"

Then the face rose, scattering boulders about the hub as it swung its limbs about, eventually managing to work its way upright. On its feet, the giant head produced a large club from behind its back. Villagers fled deeper into their tunnels, seeking sanctuary from the "monster", as their cries of fear seemed to indicate what they thought of it.

Only Sonic showed no fear. He stood over Chief Ivo, who was quivering in fear, looking past the blue hedgehog to the giant face. His katana lay forgotten beside him.

"Hey, what's wrong, Eggman?" Sonic sneered. "I thought it was your job to protect the village. Y'know, judging from our positions right now, it's kinda hard to tell which one of us is the liar, huh?"

Chief Ivo ignored Sonic; the big face was the bigger issue.

Scoffing, Sonic planted a foot underneath the sheath of the katana and kicking it up into the air. It spun in the air for several seconds, before Sonic caught it by the hilt and rested it on his shoulder.

Tails ran up to Sonic, pointing frantically at a tunnel.

"Sonic, hurry! We gotta hide! This way!"

Sonic strode in the direction of the giant face, ignoring Tails's protests.

"Sonic?" Tails was filled with a black panic; Sonic was going to get himself killed if he got near that thing!

Sonic stood on a mound of rock and earth, in clear view of the giant face. It stood and stared at him; he rested exactly between its giant eyes.

"You got some real guts plowing into my village and causing all this trouble, you know that?" Sonic said, pointing at the giant face.

Tails was filled with such fear and horror at the events which had just unfolded that he could barely get any coherent words out. All that came out was, "R-r-run!"

Sonic didn't hear.

"But that stops here! I won't allow you to cause any more trouble in Knothole!"

Then the giant face's jaws parted.

"Wha-...? Who the hell are you?" came a great rumbling voice.

The jaws closed.

Realization broke through Tails.

"It can talk!" he said.

Sonic said, "Well then, clean out your ears and listen real close!"

Sonic pointed to the disc of light where the Canopy once was...

"The bad reputation of the Freedom Fighters echoes far and wide in Knothole Village!"

...then pointed at the giant face again...

"When you hear them talking about its badass leader..."

...then flicked the sheath off of the katana...

"...that man of indomitable spirit, that paragon of masculinity, that sample of hedgehog perfection..."

...then rested the parrying edge of the katana on his shoulder, where the blade glinted in the light. His green eyes glinted behind his red shades!

"...they're talking about me, Sonic The Hedgehog!"

Dead silence reigned over Knothole Village in that instance. Apart from the occasional mutter heard from the recently ousted members of the Freedom Fighters of _What an idiot_ and _Dumbass _and _Gonna get himself killed_.

But Tails was so encouraged by Sonic's lack of fear in the face of this impossible foe that he couldn't help but smile, even as he thought _Sonic's dead._

"I will not tolerate any further wrongdoings in my village! Let's rock and roll!"

The giant face's jaws parted again, and a laugh echoed out. "What can a puny Möbian like you possibly do to harm me?"

Tails barely had time to think _Möbian?_ before he heard a loud bang.

A small crack appeared in the giant face's carapace.

Bang. A flash of blue light near the former Canopy.

Sonic and Tails looked up at its source.

Bang. The flash of blue light again. Lower this time. There was a lithe shape that it came from, attached to a thin line near the lip of the Canopy.

Someone was attacking the giant face.

Not someone from Knothole.

The attacker swung around on a rope longer than either Sonic or Tails had seen, firing those bright flashes of blue light at the giant face with a loud _bang_ with each shot, before rappelling down to the lowest level of the hub and skidding to a stop directly in front of Sonic and Tails.

It was a woman, of mixed chipmunk and squirrel heritage from her looks. She had her red hair tied into a ponytail. She wore a blue vest over a flame-decal bra, black short-shorts, and blue boots. She carried a large rifle; this was how she was firing.

She turned to face Sonic and Tails; she had wonderful blue eyes behind her eye-protection goggles.

"Alright, you two! Get back!" she said to them.

Sonic let out a long whistle. "Something else from the surface?"

"Yeah," Tails said. "A woman this time."

Bang. She was firing again.

Bang. Twice, apparently. At this close range, Tails's sensitive fox ears were ringing.

The giant face fell back from the girl's shots.

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

The girl began to run around the fallen giant face, depositing a smoking shell on the ground from the rifle's loading chamber.

"I only knocked it onto its back. It can still get up and attack!"

"Yo, babe! How ya doin'?" came a voice from her left.

"What?" the girl turned; it was the blue hedgehog from before. He was keeping pace with her, and giving her a look that showed too much interest for her comfort.

Civilians were not supposed to be out on the battlefield.

"So you're fighting that big mug? Let me give you a hand!"

Or helping her out.

She hid behind a large boulder, opposite the giant face.

"So you're from the surface, right?" he said, his eyes eagerly looking up and down her body.

"Pretty much," she replied curtly.

"Cool! So that's a weapon that they use on the surface?"

"Not everyone, but yeah." Geez. She was just trying to reload her rifle here, and this pervert of a hedgehog was-

"Wow, you got a nice body! Surface chicks are a breed apart!"

Enough was enough. The girl glared at the blue hedgehog.

"Do I have to tell you twice to run? Do you have a death wish?"

A shadow fell over them. Her eyes widened. She and the hedgehog looked up.

The giant face had raised its club and brought it down on them.

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

Sonic and the girl lay in front of Tails. He'd dug a hole when Sonic started chasing the sniper girl, and followed the sounds of them running until they stopped, then dug out the earth underneath them until it couldn't support their weight and they fell through.

Sonic said, "Thanks, Tails! Nice save."

"Hurry, this way!" he said, pointing down the tunnel he'd just dug. Kukku mimicked his master, going, "Cha-chao!"

It was dark and cramped, but Tails's digging goggles reflected light at many times the intensity than when it struck them, and it was sort of an emergency situation, so Sonic and the girl didn't complain.

"So where is this?" she asked after a few minutes of cramped crawling.

"Knothole Village," came Sonic's voice from the rear.

"Oh, so this is the pit next door," she said.

"'Next door'?" asked Sonic, disappointment evident in his tone.

"I hail from Acorn Village, the village next to yours."

"What? I thought you said you came from the surface!"

"I said I came down from the surface just now, but I was originally born in Acorn."

Tails emerged from the tunnel where he'd originally begun digging it.

Sonic's voice echoed up just as the girl emerged.

"Geez, you're a pit chick? Move it, thunder thighs!"

She grabbed her thighs in indignancy, flushing as Sonic emerged behind her.

"What's with the sudden change in attitude?"

Tails beckoned them to follow. "This way!"

The girl, settling down, asked as they clambored up a ladder to the next level, "So, where exactly are you taking us?"

"The face!" Tails said, leading them down a thin hallway. The ladder up was the quickest way to the downward paths to the thing he'd dug up.

"The face?" asked the girl, her breasts pressing against the wall as she edged along sideways.

"The humongous face!" Tails added, dropping down a ladder-hole to a room with a window into the hub. The giant face was stomping around, looking for - a way out? people to kill? Who knew?

"You mean a Gizoid?" the girl asked, dropping down next to Tails.

"What the hell's a 'Gizoid'?" Sonic asked her, landing next to her.

"That is," she said, pointing at the giant face out the window.

Then she set up her sniper rifle.

"Just a minute. I can target its power conduits from here. If I nail them, it'll stop him dead in his tracks." After a moment of aiming, she smirked, "Alright!"

That's when Sonic jumped up in front of the rifle, facing the Gizoid.

"Hey! You big old lump! We're about to take you down in one shot, so say your prayers!"

The Gizoid began to turn to face them, and the girl hastily fired off two shots - Bang-Bang. - before the Gizoid put its club through the wall.

Fortunately, they'd dropped down another ladder-hole.

"What in the world was _that_ for?" the girl shouted at Sonic.

"A man looks his opponent in the eye when he delivers the killing blow!" he replied as he leapt down another hole after Tails.

"I'm a _woman_, thank you very much!" she shouted after him.

"A woman shouldn't be getting involved in a fight between two men," Sonic retorted as the three of them crawled through Tails's tunnel, Kukku flitting ahead.

"I was the one who was fighting that thing _first_, just so you know!" the girl replied as Tails went ahead to the thing he'd dug up and waited for them to catch up. He'd dug out a small room around it when he dug it out, so that Sonic would be suitably impressed.

Tails heard the smirk in Sonic's reply.

"You got spunk, girl. I like your style!"

As Sonic and the girl entered the small dug-out chamber, they gasped.

Admittedly, it bore very little similar features to a face. It was a large yellow ball large enough for Chief Ivo to sit inside comfortably, with darker yellow discs on either side where ears would be on a human. A large, darker-yellow crest doubled the face's height, and in the middle was a small, roundish protrusion roughly the same size as one of its blank, blue eyes. On its back was some sort of downward-facing turbine.

"This is it? This is the thing you wanted to show me?" Sonic asked blankly.

"Yep!" Tails said brightly.

Sonic gave a thumbs-up.

"This makes _two_ awesome things you've dug up now, big guy," he grinned.

Tails chuckled to himself, scratching the back of his head.

"I wonder if it's a friend of the Gizoid outside?" asked the girl.

"It doesn't look dangerous," said Sonic, smirking as he scratched his head. "Besides, I like this thing's face."

"But look at this!" said Tails, showing one thing he'd uncovered about this face he'd dug up: he flipped himself along the rim around the level of the top its eyes, and sat in the seat inside its head. Inside, there were a pair of grips which Tails assumed were the controls for this thing. In front of the seat, there was a circular display directly opposite the protrusion on the face's crest.

"You can ride in it?" asked the girl. "But how...?"

"Sonic!" Tails said eagerly, facing his surrogate brother. "Let's use this thing to take out the big thing out there!"

"Let's waste it," smirked Sonic.

Tails nodded. That thing would be _no_ match for Sonic once he got out there in this thing!

"But are you sure it's a good idea to use this thing when you don't even know how it works?" asked the girl. She was asking a lot of questions about this thing.

"Come on, Sonic!" Tails said, preparing to jump out of the head. "You can use this thing to-..."

Tails's drill pendant began to pulse with a green light. The face's eyes began to pulse green in time with the drill, and a small slit in the ball set in the face's crest began to pulse as well.

"It's working!" Tails said excitedly, grinning as he looked down at the face.

"But how...?" said the girl.

Tails faced Sonic.

"Come on, Sonic!"

Sonic was suddenly pensive, his arms folded. After a long moment, he uncrossed his arms and faced Tails.

"You do it, Tails."

In four words, Tails's spirits plummeted. Sonic _wasn't_ gonna use this thing to take out that thing that was trashing their village? And instead, he was asking _Tails _to do it? All Tails knew how to do was dig holes; it's not like he was good at fighting or holding his ground or anything, like Sonic was!

"You're the one who dug this thing up, Tails," Sonic said, that grin back on his face. "That means that this thing is yours!"

"But, Sonic...!"

"What?" Sonic replied, crossing his arms importantly. "Do you really think that Sonic The Hedgehog could steal stuff from his little brother? Who the hell do you think I am?"

"But I can't do it! It's impossible!"

"Come on, Tails! Don't be a dumbass!" Sonic said, clenching his fist. "We kick common sense out and go _beyond_ the impossible! That's how the Freedom Fighters _do_ things, remember?"

Tails was silent. So was the girl, who seemed to have run out of questions. In the distance, they could hear the distant Gizoid thrashing about, likely looking for those agitators who had tried shooting and shouting at it.

"Just pilot the damn thing!" said Sonic, pushing Tails back into the seat, before sitting behind Tails's right ear. The girl sat opposite Sonic, behind Tails's left.

"You can do this!" said Sonic, slapping Tails on the back. "If _anyone_ can do it, it's you!"

"But still..."

Tails didn't see how he could do this. This was really more Sonic's thing, to go out and fight and battle to keep everyone safe. It was Sonic who never gave up on anything, even being trapped in a cave-in. Sonic should be doing this, not Tails!

"Listen, Tails!" said Sonic, his grin not faltering. "Don't believe in yourself."

What? Tails snapped up and, in the corner of his eye, noticed Sonic pointing at himself with his thumb.

"Believe in _me_! Believe in the Sonic who believes in you!"

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" asked the girl.

Tails thought, _Sonic believes in me. He believes in me enough to believe I can do this. Maybe, if I believe in him, while he believes in me, maybe... just maybe..._

Tails grit his teeth and furrowed his brow.

"I'll see what I can do," he said, pulling down his digging goggles.

The circular display began to pulse with green light, showing a spiral leading to a small indentation in the middle.

**?**

Kukku's floating ball over his head turned into a '?', whatever that meant. It must have had something to do with confusion, because Tails was.

**!**

The '?' over Kukku's head turned into a '!', and the Chao pointed at Tails's chest. "Chao!"

Tails looked down, and saw his drill pendant. It was pulsing in rhythm with the circular display. Taking hold of the miniature drill of emerald, Tails cautiously guided it towards the small hole. Looking closely, it seemed to be carved just for the drill pendant. Or was the drill crafted to fit into this hole? Which came first?

It clicked in with a snap. A perfect fit.

Tails turned it.

The display lit up in a spiral of bright-green increments.

And the face's eyes erupted with emerald light as a stumpy pair of legs added another couple feet to the head's height and a pair of arms emerged from where the head's ears would be.

"It worked!" was all Tails got to say...

Before the head rocketed out the tunnel, with Tails, Sonic, and the girl on board.

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

"Come on, people! Drop whatever you're doing and head deeper into the tunnels!" Chief Ivo shouted, waving his arms frantically in the air to catch attention. Villagers old and young, big and small, human and anthro, ran past him into the deeper areas of the village. When he was certain that everyone was accounted for, Ivo ran for cover.

Miraculously, no one was killed or even hurt by this... this _thing_ that was attacking his village. Somehow, Miles and Olgilvie and that girl had disappeared. In spite of all the trouble that Olgilvie had been causing for as long as Ivo knew him, he never wished an ill fate upon him. He was one of the villagers, and so it was Ivo's duty, sworn at his father's deathbed, to ensure every villagers' safety. He'd last seen him pursuing that girl who fell into the village, shooting at that thing. He wondered where he could have gone, because he would have noticed a broken, mangled body amongst the rubble.

Suddenly, a large yellow shape emerged from a tunnel on the opposite side of the hub. It just grazed under the giant face, between its stumpy legs, and he heard a familiar voice shouting out "You did it, Tails!" and another familiar voice returning "Y-yeah, Sonic!"

Peering out from his hiding place, Ivo was stunned. Piloting a much smaller robot head, was...

"Is that... Olgilvie and Miles?"

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

Sonic laughed from the shoulder of the face. "How about that, you Gizoid S.O.B.? Now we got our own Gizoid to fight you with. And let me tell ya, even if heaven itself tolerates your brutality, the mighty Emerl won't!"

"Who's 'Emerl'?" the girl asked.

"This guy," said Sonic, patting the side of the miniature Gizoid. "I just came up with his name."

"That's not really imaginative," the girl said.

But Tails was terrified all this time. The giant Gizoid was close enough to step on them if it took one more step and _oh jeez it was swinging its arm and_

The freshly named Emerl deployed a pair of springs from its feet, launching into the air with a _sproing_. The Gizoid's fist slammed into the dirt where it had been moments before.

"Why are you running, Tails?" Sonic shouted as Emerl sprung around the hub, avoiding the skull-like Gizoid's fists.

"It's trying to kill us!" Tails screamed back.

"A real man never runs away from a fight!" Sonic retorted.

Then the Gizoid swung its club and finally struck Emerl, knocking Sonic and the girl loose. Emerl was buried in the rubble of the nearest wall.

* * *

The girl came to, with a shock.

"W-we're on top of its head?" she yelled.

So they were. And it was raising its free hand to squash them.

She screamed.

* * *

Tails groggily brought Emerl out of the rubble in the wall. He was protected from the debris by Emerl's crest, which seemed transparent from the pilot's side while it was activated.

He heard screams.

He looked down.

Down the length of the Gizoid's club, still embedded tip-first in the wall, on top of the Gizoid's head, darting back and forth to avoid its wandering hand, were the girl and...

"Sonic!" Tails called out.

Emerl's feet began slipping down the club.

Tails couldn't do this. He couldn't stop this thing from trashing his village because he was young and weak and not at all like Sonic and because this was nighttime hours and there was light pouring down from the surface and it hurt his eyes and...

And Tails gulped.

"K-kick common sense out... and go... beyond the impossible!"

Emerl's feet slipped more.

"That's how... the Freedom Fighters... _do it!_"

With a battle cry - and a tumble or two - Tails tore down the length of the Gizoid's club to save his big brother.

"SOOO~ONIII~IC!"

The girl was firing at the hand now, but it was Tails swooping in on Emerl that knocked it away.

Tails was hyperventilating now, but Sonic grinned at him.

"Not bad, Tails!"

The girl was hitting Emerl's side, a panicked look on her face. "Come on, jump! Make it jump!"

The Gizoid was raising its club.

"Come on! Hurry and jump! It's gonna swing at us!"

Tails's face had screwed up in fear because he _just wanted that giant Gizoid to leave him alone and not kill him or his big brother_

And suddenly a canopy closed around the three on board. The girl yelled in alarm.

With its canopy closed, Emerl's body - well, head. Whatever. - was a nearly perfect sphere, apart from the crest. As such, almost all of the force from the Gizoid's club slid off it, and Emerl was sent tumbling over its head as the Gizoid's club hit it on the head.

The Gizoid stood still, stunned, then its jaws went slack and it fell onto its side.

Emerl landed with a _thunk_ beside it.

In the cockpit, Tails had an uncomfortably close-up view of Sonic's spiney blue butt.

"Nice work with the canopy, Tails," he said.

"It's a bit cramped, though," said the girl.

The canopy went transparent, and Tails knocked on the Gizoid. It was very still.

"Looks like you took yourself out, guy," said Sonic, smirking.

"I guess its club was harder than its head," the girl added.

A shriek from outside alerted them. Looking in its direction, they saw a pink hedgehog girl pointing in horror over Emerl.

Looking up, Tails saw a fist.

And he dodged...

Right into the Gizoid's teeth.

Emerl was caught between a pair of teeth in its mouth. The Gizoid laughed in triumph.

"I have you now!"

It grinded its teeth against Emerl, attempting to crush it.

Inside, the girl was gritting her teeth.

"We're done for... It's so cramped!"

"Stop complaining!" Sonic said, her foot in his face.

"Damn it!" said Tails. "I need... more power!"

**!**

"Chao!" said Kukku, pointing at the drill pendant. It had come dislodged slightly in all the blunt trauma.

It was difficult extricating one of his arms from Sonic's tangled limbs, but he leaned down under Sonic's butt and pushed the drill in the slot. Then twisted it.

The display lit up green again. Brighter than before.

* * *

From outside, one of the Gizoid's teeth began to glow with green cracks, then shattered as Emerl emerged, a drill large enough to punch a hole through Chief Ivo coming from its crest.

* * *

"A drill?" Sonic asked.

"It just sorta popped out," said Tails.

"That's your kinda weapon. It's a perfect match!" Sonic grinned.

Emerl landed, facing the Gizoid, which now realized how much of a threat Emerl was.

"Sonic, I think I can do this," Tails said.

"Alright, then!" Sonic said, gritting his teeth. "Give that son of a bitch a taste of the power of the Freedom Fighters' mighty drill!"

"Right!" said Tails, clutching the contols tightly. Green sparks began to fly from them.

As Tails let out a battle cry, Emerl glowed an emerald light, and its fists were engulfed in green energy, to be replaced with identical drills.

* * *

The girl was amazed. This Gizoid 'Emerl' was really _powerful_! Or was it the fox boy's power? What was this power that the fox boy was drawing from? _Where_ was he drawing from?

"Get going, Tails!" shouted Sonic The Hedgehog. "Bust through the heavens with your drill!"

* * *

Letting loose a loud scream from Tails and Sonic, Emerl launched towards the Gizoid with green energy pouring from its turbine, which raised its club as a last desperate shield. Emerl's drills shattered it with minimal effort, and struck the Gizoid under the right eye, carrying it up towards the circle of orange light where it had fallen through in the first place. The village was nearly eclipsed once more, when the Gizoid began to fall again.

* * *

Inside Emerl, Tails and Sonic let loose with a simultaneous scream. _No way are you coming back here again!_ they thought, the thoughts directed at the Gizoid...

And themselves.

The spiral gauge shone brightly with green light.

* * *

Emerl's drills suddenly expanded and began spinning more vigorously. A twister was kicked up underneath it as it carried the Gizoid up and out of the hole...

And out of Knothole Village.

The villagers had begun to crowd out of the the tunnels to watch the battle in spite of the danger, Chief Ivo included. Now, they could only stare dumbly at the hole left behind by the thing that had fallen into their village and destroyed their daily lives.

Because they all knew now.

The surface was real.

Sonic The Hedgehog was no liar.

Neither was his father before him.

_Looks like I owe that boy an apology_, Chief Ivo thought. _If I ever meet him and Jules again, I'll apologize for ever doubting them._

* * *

Inside Emerl, Sonic was beside himself.

"Sayonara, Knothole Village!" he shouted. "Our next stop is the surface! The surface that I saw as a kid!"

Tails's teeth were gritted; his heart was pounding in his chest and he was feeling so exhilirated that he wanted to die! No one should have to experience this in their lifetime; it was impossible to say that this wasn't fun...

So Tails grinned; he was a Freedom Fighter, someone who kicked common sense out and went _beyond_ the impossible.

And he let himself live for the moment.

Sonic and Tails let out yells of exhiliration. The girl just screamed.

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

The Gizoid was carried out of the pit it had fallen into by Emerl's drill, a jet of emerald energy pouring out behind it. The attacker and the attackee rose several thousand feet into the air before the green energy coalesced for one brief instant into a tremendous drill, obliterating the Gizoid as it gave off one last protesting groan. As the Gizoid's remains fell away, the drill dissipated into green energy again, which itself disappeared.

Emerl's canopy flew open as it spun in midair.

Tails's jaw dropped.

This was the surface.

The ceiling was immensely high, going red on one end, while the other side was a blue darker than Sonic. As Emerl spun, Tails and Sonic saw for the first time a very bright light that looked like it was almost going to touch the earth on the red side of the surface's ceiling, and a not-so-bright light that looked like a very shiny and very large rock on the dark-blue side.

Below, Tails saw expanses of very large rocks; flat, smooth plains of dirt; ravines carved into the earth.

They really should have brought along a bard to tell of how beautiful it was, because none present could describe how awe-inspiring this view was.

"Is this... the surface?" Sonic said dumbly, taken in by the view.

"It's so beautiful!" Tails said, grinning in the aftereffects of the adrenaline rush, and in the beauty of this introduction to the surface.

"Sally."

Tails looked toward the girl in confusion. She was smiling at him and Sonic.

"That's my name; Sally," she said. "I never introduced myself, did I?"

"Now that you mention it..." Tails began.

Sonic put his pointy shades back on. "I'm Sonic," then he ruffled Tails's hair, "And this is Tails."

"Nice to meet you two," Sally said.

Then her breasts began to bounce on their own.

As it turned out, Kukku was hiding between them.

Sally pointed at Kukku. "Umm, why is this Chao hiding in my cleavage?"

**?**

"Chao?" Kukku asked.

"Hey, Kukku! Behave yourself!" Tails said, blushing furiously even though he wasn't the one who was stuck between a _beautiful girl's breasts_.

"Umm, Tails, I don't think your looking at the boulders we should be worried about," said Sonic, suddenly looking worried. He wasn't even looking at this scene with Sally and Kukku.

Anymore, at least.

"What's wrong?" Tails asked.

"The repulsors stopped," said Sally, looking down. And looking pale.

"Do something about it, Tails!" Sonic said, clenching the sides as the wind began to whistle about them.

"It just happened on its own. I don't know how to run this thing!" he said, shaking the controls futilely, before sinking into his seat. "It's no use."

"You're quick to give up!" shouted Sally as butterflies danced in all their stomaches, and instinct took over, and they screamed.

"HANG ON TIGHT!" shouted Sonic.

With a grunt of effort, Tails closed the canopy around himself and Sonic and Sally.

Springs appeared on Emerl's feet and extended to the ground, but it did not bounce back up; instead, it was half-embedded in the dirt, kicking up a dust cloud.

When it cleared, Sonic was lying way clear of Emerl, and Tails was on top of Sally.

"Talk about your rough receptions," Sonic groaned.

"You can say that again," said Tails. Opening his eyes, Tails's heart leapt into his throat; his face was between Sally's breasts!

He pulled himself back; Sally's assets jiggled with his movement.

"I-I'm sorry!" he said, looking back and forth between... _them_.

Right.

Left.

Right.

Left.

Right.

Then he looked at Sally's face.

She was _smiling_, as though this wasn't a big deal.

Then she grimaced, and broke out into a sweat.

Tails tried to backpedal from her rapidly, but she grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and pulled him in again.

"Out of the frying pan and into the fire..." she muttered. Looking out of the corner of his eye, Tails realized what had frightened Sally so.

Two gigantic silhouettes of two gigantic heads with arms and legs, their eyes glowing with killing intent...

**つづく  
To be continued...**

次回予告  
Next Episode Preview

A world without walls or ceilings is a world without limits! Whether it be lights in the sky or enemies on the earth! That is the only world for a real man!

Next time on _Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl_: _**"That's Exactly The Kind Of World I Was Looking For!"**_


	4. Chapter 3

_(On to Chapter Three! No spoilers in the comments, please!)_

"This is the tale of a man who has yet to realize what his destiny is.

"A beautiful young woman named Sally Acorn, who fires wildly with a superconducting rifle, swings down from the surface and attacks the enemy Gizoid.

"Using a miniature Gizoid he'd unearthed while digging, Tails reluctantly attacks the hostile mecha.

"The momentum of the attack carries the trio up to the surface, but they run afoul of two more such Gizoids, and then..."

**CHAPTER THREE:  
That's Exactly The Kind Of World I Was Looking For!**

Not wasting any time, Sally grabbed Tails and leapt into Emerl, followed by Sonic. The Gizoid which was closer to them brought its fist along the ground towards Emerl, which turned out to be lucky, as the instant that Tails closed Emerl's canopy, the fist dislodged Emerl from the crater it had created when it landed.

"Sneaking up on people is just playing dirty!" Sonic shouted as Tails guided Emerl to run from the two hostile Gizoids.

"Sorry! I forgot to tell you!" Sally said, her face showing a mix of alarm and guilt.

"Huh?"

"These two were waiting for us all along!"

"They were?"

"Three of them jumped me, and the one that fell into your village was one of them!"

"So there are lots of these things up here?"

"The surface is crawling with Gizoids!"

"That sounds great!" Sonic smirked.

Tails was terrified of this whole ordeal. He was in a world he knew nothing about, completely removed from any sense of familiarity, and _two huge robot heads with arms and legs were trying to squash him_.

"I HATE THIS!" he yelled, tears streaming down his face.

And Emerl began to dig. For some reason that Tails couldn't understand, drills would not come out of Emerl, so he made Emerl grab clumps of dirt and toss them to either side. Behind him, the Gizoids' footfalls grew louder.

"What are you doing, Tails?" Sonic asked angrily. He had stopped smirking.

"I'm going home, Sonic! I wanna go home! I don't wanna go to the surface! I just wanna go back to the villaaaaaAAAAAAGGGEEE!"

A Gizoid had caught up with Emerl and punted it.

When it landed, Tails was shaking.

"C'mon, Tails! Grow a pair already and fight them!" Sonic shouted.

"I don't understand!" said Sally, looking rather rattled at having been inside a giant football. "You did so well against the first one!"

"That was just a fluke!" Tails shouted back, his voice going high with fright as he looked around frantically. "Where's the hole we came out of?"

"Alright, Tails!" yelled Sonic. "I'll handle them! Open the hatch!"

Tails didn't need to be told twice.

Sonic strode out, pulled out the katana he'd taken from Chief Ivo quick as a flash, and faced the Gizoids.

"Listen close, you walking faces!" he said, his grin coming back. "He may have just left his homeland, but he never looks back, never retreats, and never regrets!"

That was when Tails realized just how _small and squashable_ Sonic was compared to the Gizoids' fists.

"Never surrender, never give ground! The tenacity of a real man is all about the nevers!

"And so I, Sonic The Hedgehog of the Freedom Fighters, will take you on!"

Sonic posed with the katana.

"Let's rock and roll!"

A Gizoid's fist came down on where he was standing.

When it pulled its fist back, there was nothing there. No blood, no mangled hedgehog body, no broken shades. Nothing.

It blinked in confusion.

Tails in Emerl had bolted forward at the last possible second and grabbed Sonic in a mad dash before he could be crushed. Now Emerl was tearing down the desolate landscape, Sonic clutched between its fists, Tails looking at Sonic through the translucent back of Emerl's crest.

"You could've gotten yourself killed, Sonic!" he yelled at him.

Sonic fixed Tails with a hard look behind his pointed shades.

"How long are you gonna run, Tails?"

Tails started.

"We finally made it to the surface," Sonic said seriously. "Now's the time to cast aside the boy you used to be..."

He smirked slightly.

"...and become a man!"

Before Tails could say anything else, a Gizoid's fist slammed into the dirt behind him, and with a yelp from Tails, Emerl's turbine spun and unleashed green energy. The miniature Gizoid took to the air. Tails felt more at ease in the air, but was afraid that if the engines cut out he _would fall and die_.

Sally stood on top of Emerl, facing the Gizoids and pointing her rifle at them.

"Hold us steady, Tails!" she called.

Bang.

Tails jolted, and Emerl spun upside-down and rightside-up again. It was so loud just a couple feet away, and he was in a place further from home than he'd ever been and he was so high up that if he fell he didn't know what he'd do...

"I'm scared, Sonic!" he screamed.

Then he felt a warm something on the back of his head.

_Two_ warm somethings.

Sally was leaning against the back of his head. If he looked up, he could see her short-shorts. Tails blushed furiously in spite of himself.

"I _said_, hold us steady!" Sally said testily.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

The rifle was even closer now. And louder. Tails clenched his fists over his ears; this place was loud and scary and there were _giant robots out to kill him waiting everywhere and he just wanted to curl up in a hole and never come out again and_

Emerl's turbine cut out, the green energy flow ceased, and the Gizoid - and its passengers - began to fall.

"Um, hello?" said Sally, raising up off of Tails. "We're kind of falling!"

Tails didn't want to die from this fall, and somehow, Emerl slowed in its descent enough that it landed in front of a row of large boulders with only a very soft _thunk_, facing away from the approaching Gizoids.

"What's wrong, Tails?" Sonic asked the shaking fox boy.

"It won't move!" he replied, frenetically rocking the controls.

"Why not?"

"I don't know!" Tails hung his head in defeat. "I can't do this! You do this, Sonic."

"Tails, you little..." Sonic growled.

"Save the family squabbles for later!" Sally snapped, before turning to face the Gizoids again.

She pulled the trigger.

Click.

She gasped sharply; she was out of ammunition, she had no other clips left on hand, her handgun was back at Acorn Village, and Emerl wouldn't run for some reason.

It was all over...

Until the hail of gunfire came from the direction Emerl was facing. The Gizoids halted and immediately raised their arms to protect themselves from the surprise attack.

Sonic, Tails, and Sally faced the boulders.

There was a large group of a dozen or more people, some human, some anthro, but all wielding either shotguns or machine guns. At their head was a squirrel man who looked very much like Sally.

"Are you alright, Sal?" he called out.

A large smile spread across Sally's face.

"Elias!" she replied.

"A friend of yours?" Sonic asked.

"My brother, actually, but I'm glad he's here!" she replied brightly.

"And with reinforcements, too!" Sonic grinned.

Tails looked up; it sounded like things were going to be alright.

As it took the gunfire, the nearest Gizoid's joints began to emit smoke. Its lower jaw went slack, and a small compartment inside split like two sets of teeth, and a small dark shape jumped out.

Tails watched it. "There was something piloting it?"

"Get your heads down!" said Sally, pushing both Sonic and Tails to the bottom of Emerl's seat. Overhead, they could hear the horrendous sound of scraping metal and billowing smoke as the Gizoid collapsed.

"Aww... my Gizoid..." came a snarling voice.

Looking up, Sonic and Tails saw a creature with black scales and red fur stripes. It was so utterly unlike anything either of them had seen before.

The remaining Gizoid lifted it up by the scruff of the neck.

"Leave it be. It's almost sunset, and we need to regroup at the base," it said.

"You hear that, you filthy Möbians?" yelled the black creature, fixating on them with hate-filled yellow eyes. "We're gonna settle this tomorrow!"

Elias noted this, and then ordered, "Don't hold anything back on them! FIRE!"

A dozen rifles fired at once on the remaining Gizoid even as it bolted for the setting sun, the words "You'll rue this day!" drifting back to them from the Gizoidless black creature.

Silence fell.

And Tails breathed a sigh of relief.

Sally hitched her rifle's strap over her shoulder and smiled at her brother.

"I'm so glad you're safe, sis," said Elias, embracing her. "When you fell in that hole it made..."

"I'm alright, Elias," Sally said, returning his gesture. "With a life like this, we're gonna have to get used to it. We lost a lot of people protecting Acorn over the years."

Elias looked at Emerl. He raised an eyebrow. "I didn't see that Gizoid in their platoon."

"That's because Tails there dug it up and used it to destroy the one that fell with me."

"Tails?" Elias was confused.

"The fox boy. He was a Digger in his village."

Elias noted Tails's two tails. "I can tell where he got that name from. And he found that? Underground? What was a Gizoid doing buried near a pit?"

Sally shook her head. "If only we knew..."

Sonic raised a hand to shield his eyes.

"So, those black creatures are inside the Gizoids?" he said to himself.

"They're called the Black Arms," said Sally, striding to stand beside him.

"Black..._Arms_?" Sonic said.

"Yes. They pilot the Gizoids and try to kill anyone they can find. They come out when the sun rises, and leave when the sun sets."

_Sun?_ Tails thought. _What's a 'sun'?_

"Why do they leave then?"

"I don't know."

"And... you've been fighting them your whole life?"

"That's right," said Sally, before walking over to the wreckage of the Gizoid. "I'll fill you in on the details later."

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

The big ball of blinding bright light had gone down, and the surface's ceiling had gone almost black, apart from the ball of bright, but not blinding light, hovering overhead like the large eye of some great god, and the countless specks of light all around it. Elias, Sally's older brother, had called forward their village's technician to help him strip the Gizoid of useful parts.

Tails sat in Emerl, looking down at his feet. This had been such a long and frightening day. The ball floating over Kukku's head turned into a little heart, which was either a sign of happiness or affection in Chao. He was rubbing his little hand against the fur on Tails's arm, to try to soothe him.

It wasn't working.

"You did good today, Tails," Sonic said at Tails's right hand. He had removed his shades.

"I can't do this," Tails murmured. "It's so scary up here on the surface. I just wanna go home."

"Tails, if you'd gone back to Knothole Village, I would be flatter than a pig-mole steak under that one Gizoid's fist," Sonic said, smiling warmly at Tails. "Whenever my ass is in trouble, you're always there to save it.

"Thanks."

Tails couldn't help but feel that Sonic was giving him too much credit. Sonic was the one who had the courage to stand up to the Gizoids, not him. Tails was only doing what was natural when Sonic threw himself in the face of danger by dragging him back.

"I finally made it, Dad," said Sonic.

Tails faced him. "Huh?"

"Nevermind," Sonic said quickly, looking at the 'ceiling'. "It's really a nice sight, isn't it? The sky? That's what the people on the surface call that big ceiling, y'know?"

"Y-yeah," Tails said. "It does look nice."

"Mm-hmm. There's that big light there, and all those itty-bitty lights all around it. This place is full of light, even at night! This is _way _better than the pitch-black nights back in Knothole." Sonic took a deep breath, and sighed. "Yep. Comin' up here was the right call."

"That big light is called the 'Moon'," said Sally, walking up to them. Sonic and Tails faced her. "The 'itty-bitty' lights, as you call them, are called the 'stars'."

Sonic looked back at the sky. "Moon and stars, huh? Aren't those names kinda simple?"

"I wonder why they had names in the first place," Tails said. Sonic and Sally looked at him.

"What do you mean?" asked Sonic.

"I mean, if they had names, then that means that people in the past may have looked up at the lights in the sky all the time."

"Wow, that's a pretty bright observation, kid," came a voice from in front of Emerl. Tails snapped to look in that direction. A purple walrus rose up into view, holding a small device which he was tapping with his fingers. He was wearing a yellow hat, a jacket, and a belt with a wide range of tools hanging off of it.

"This is a fascinating mecha you have here!" he said.

"'Mecha'?" Sonic asked.

"It may be small, but it's packing a lot of power," said the walrus, wearing a smile as he typed away at his handheld.

"What are you doing?" asked Tails.

"Running some numbers," said the walrus, handing the device to Tails. "Want to see?"

Tails looked at the display.

"Is this a machine that makes squiggly lines?" he asked.

"Oh, you don't know how to read?" asked the walrus.

"'Read'?" Tails asked, before handing the device to Sonic. "You know how to 'read', Sonic?"

Sonic stared at the device's display for a long moment, furrowing his brow... then turned it sideways. Finally, he handed it back to the walrus. "No idea."

Sally chuckled, "What a pair of bumpkins we dug up!"

"Y'know, you're not exactly the brightest bulb on the block yourself, Sally," said the walrus.

"At least I can read," she said, taking the device from the walrus and typing a couple of buttons. The screen went blank except for a flickering line in the upper-left corner.

"See?"she typed out a word that was four characters long.

"This says 'Star'..."

She typed out another four-letter long word on the next line. The two middle characters were the same.

"...and this says 'Moon'!"

Sally returned the display back to what it said before, and now Sonic and Tails could occasionally see the letters from 'star' and 'moon' in the numbers that the walrus was crunching. It was an odd feeling, knowing sort of how to read, but not quite. And even if they could read them, who was to say either Sonic or Tails would derive any meaning from the words that were being written? This walrus was clearly well-versed in technology, and who knew what made this Gizoid Emerl tick.

The walrus looked over his readings, and his eyebrows went up. "Fascinating."

"What's fascinating?" asked Sally.

"I've seen lots of Gizoids over the years, but this one is different."

"How so?" Sonic asked.

"It's just a theory at this point, but if what I'm hypothesizing turns out to be accurate..." he closed the small device. "Then this Gizoid could adapt to war conditions on any battlefront."

"It's that powerful?" Sally cast a glance at Emerl. "Emerl is?"

"It's entirely possible," said the walrus, looking to the sky, "As probable as it is that Möbians used to live on the surface."

"Möbians?" Tails asked.

"The name of the surface world is Möbius," said the walrus. "It stands to reason that its inhabitants - us - would be called Möbians."

"And 'we' encompasses..."

"Every human and anthro that lives in any underground village anywhere," the walrus said. "Basically, anyone but the Black Arms. It's a big mystery, though. Some records say Möbians lived on the surface in the past, and others say they didn't." He picked up Kukku, who expressed his delight with this newcomer with a heart-shaped ball over his head. "Kinda like how I'm sort of both and neither a land- and sea-person. And I'm inclined to believe that the surface used to overflow with Möbians."

"So, who are you?" asked Sonic, a little testy at going so long without knowing someone's name.

The walrus looked slightly surprised, "Oh! Sorry, I was so interested in this Gizoid here I forgot to..." He trailed off. He put out a hand.

"Name's Rotor Walrus, but some people call me 'Rote'. I was Boomer when I was little, but it didn't stick."

"Rotor's a real mechanical genius," Sally said as Sonic tentatively shook Rotor's hand. "He handles all our weapons-related maintenance. Plus, he's the village technician."

"_You _do that?" Sonic said as he released Rotor's hand.

Then Sally turned to Tails just as Rotor shook with him.

"Now, I kinda have to ask a favor of you, Tails," she said.

"What?" asked Tails.

Sally gestured towards the pile of parts they had salvaged from the Gizoid they'd destroyed.

"Could you carry that for me?" Sally said, before adding, "With Emerl, I mean."

"I-I'm sure I could, but..." Tails looked at the drill pendant that had powered Emerl before, but which was useless now. He had tried several times since the Acorn villagers had taken down that one Gizoid and forced the other to retreat, but nothing had happened. It was useless now...

"Wow, what is that?" asked Sally, leaning in to look at the drill pendant. She looked spellbound. "It looks... kinda pretty."

Tails's heart pounded as he realized how close Sally was. He tried to keep his eyes from drifting to her chest... her chest which was pressed against his face not a few hours before...

Tails felt some warm emotion rising in him...

And the drill pendant began to emit an emerald light.

Tails's eyes widened. As did Sally's, Sonic's, and Rotor's.

While the drill pendant was still glowing and a desire to earn Sally's romantic favor filled him, Tails inserted the drill into the slot.

The display lit up, and Emerl stood erect.

"It's working again," said Sally with a smile. "Now, follow me!"

Sally walked toward the salvaged parts, and Tails followed.

"So it responds to male spirit?" Rotor said, folding his arms. "Fascinating."

Sonic raised an eyebrow.

"Y'know, I doubt anyone would build something like that, but the way you said that makes it sounds like that thing runs off of erections."

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

The salvaged parts from the enemy Gizoid had been strapped down to a concave metal plate which was formerly the Gizoid's shell, and the villagers from Acorn unfortunate enough to not have room to sit on it - like Sally, Elias, and Rotor - walked alongside it. Tails piloted Emerl, and Sonic rode behind Tails's right arm.

"We're really sorry about this," said Elias to Tails as Emerl pulled the gathered parts towards Acorn Village. "We went in an wrecked up your village, and then dragged you into this battle, and _then_ on top of that we're having you cart this stuff to our village."

"Don't worry about it," said Tails, before yawning loudly. It had been a long day.

Sonic followed suite. So did a handful of the Acorn villagers.

"We don't exactly lead a very high-class life out here," said Sally. "We need to salvage what we can from the enemies we kill."

Emerl stopped. The parts shuffled, and the passengers nearly slipped off.

"What's wrong?" Sally asked Sonic and Tails.

"What the hell's that?" Sonic asked roughly, pointing at something round and bleached-white, with what looked like a large hole shaped vaguely like two connected 'O's in the middle, with two smaller holes just under it, and some sort of joint below that with what looked like teeth set into it.

"That's someone who was killed by a Gizoid," said Sally.

Tails let out a short, but loud, scream. _That's what happens to someone who... who dies? How long does it take for that to happen to someone who...?_

"In this lifestyle we live by, it's not exactly like this is my first time seeing it," said Sally grimly. "He has to have been dead a while; we haven't come back to Acorn Village this way in a few years, so..."

A short while later, Sally and Elias had set a large rock by the recently created mound of earth over the deceased.

"We couldn't just leave his bones lying there," said Elias.

Sally nodded.

Sonic scoffed.

"It's a waste to bury _anyone_ who dies out in this wasteland," he said.

Sally glared at him. She said sharply, "Look, up on the surface, there's never any way of knowing when _you're _gonna be the next one being buried."

Sonic's gaze was set. "That will never happen!"

He pointed towards the sky.

"Our journey will continue until we've pierced the heavens! As far as it takes!"

Sally raised an eyebrow.

"Huh?"

_It seems crazy_, thought Tails. _But when Sonic's around, nothing seems impossible. I feel like I can do anything with Sonic here._

The journey continued for a short while in silence, and a lookout tower had become visible in the distance, before Sally spoke up again.

"Y'know, it's not exactly like we live on the surface because we have a choice," she said to Sonic.

"Really?"

"Really. Our Acorn Village was once an underground village like yours, but there was a gas leak, and it became uninhabitable. We had no choice but to come to the surface, and when we did, the Gizoids were waiting for us. We have nowhere else to go, so we have no choice but to fight. It's a struggle just to survive against the Black Arms and their Gizoids."

"We would go for their base of operations, but no one ever gets far before the Gizoids get them," added Elias.

"Sounds cool!" said Sonic, grinning. "That's exactly the kind of world I was looking for!"

Sally sighed. This man was incorrigible.

Upon their arrival in Acorn Village, the villagers expressed awe at the fact that they had a Gizoid on their side. There was a long line of people who would want to touch it or even look at it. It was difficult to imagine a Gizoid which was not actively trying to kill the nearest Möbian, so seeing one which was inactive, even if it was as small as Emerl was, was something very unusual.

Sally had prepared a meal for Sonic and Tails, to welcome them to Acorn Village, but when she found them beside Emerl, they were out cold.

She smiled. Tails looked so peaceful in his sleep, and Sonic looked...

No. Sally decided that she would not let Sonic get to her. She had a job to do protecting Acorn Village, and she pushed her growing feelings into the back of her heart.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised that they fell asleep," she said aloud. "It's been a day full of firsts to them."

**つづく  
To be continued...**

次回予告  
Next Episode Preview

If you're doing it, then so am I! If _I_ don't do it, will _you_? If _you_ won't do it, _I_ will! _I'm_ doing it, so _you_ do it, too, damn it!

Next time on _Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl_: _**"I **_**Said**_** I'm Gonna Pilot That Thing!"**_


	5. Chapter 4

_"Look around, kiddo!"_

_Sonic followed his father's wide sweeping gesture._

_"This is what's 'up'! This is the _surface_!"_

_The young blue hedgehog looked this way and that. All he saw was a very red ceiling overhead with weird puffy white stuff floating around in it, and lots of dirt going much further in every direction than was possible back in Knothole. There were a couple really big piles of dirt way, way off in the distance, but all in all, Sonic summed up his thoughts on the surface in three words:_

_"There's nothing here."_

_His father nodded._

_"Nope. Not a thing."_

_Sonic looked up, confused._

_"Huh?"_

_"That's why I like it."_

_How could his father like this?_

_"There are no walls and no ceilings. This is truly a man's world!" He turned to his son and held out his hand. "Ready to go?"_

This world is so big_, thought Sonic. _And I don't wanna go where there isn't a lot to find.

_He took a step back._

_"I see," said his father. He did not sound disappointed, but more resigned. He was accepting the fact that Sonic did not want to come to the surface._

_His father ruffled his hair. Sonic could see his father's skull-pendant dangling from a chain attached to his bracelet._

_"Well, when you're ready, come up here to be with me," his father's voice said._

_His father's smiling face._

_"Until then..."_

_His father's back. His father's red cape, with its flaming-skull-with-pointed-shades emblem._

_"Farewell, Sonic!"_

**CHAPTER FOUR:  
I **_**Said**_** I'm Gonna Pilot That Thing!**

The thundering crash was what woke up the two-tailed fox and the blue hedgehog.

With a start.

"Wh-what the hell?"

The next thing Sally knew, Sonic and Tails had bolted out of the side room that Sally had moved them while they slept and were freaking out in general, shouting at each other that they had no idea what was going on and loudly asking no one in particular what that crash was.

"Morning," said Sally casually, reloading her rifle.

Sonic and Tails bolted up to her as soon as she opened her mouth. They both looked quite alarmed, but Tails appeared more frantic.

"_What the hell was that?_" Sonic asked.

Rotor emerged from a side room with a cup of hot coffee.

"Mornings on the surface start with Gizoids," he said calmly. "Care for a cup of morning coffee, Sonic?"

"What's that? Dirty water?" asked Sonic, looking at the brown liquid in the cup.

Sally had to suppress a small chuckle at Sonic's social ineptitudes.

Clack. Clack. Clack.

Sally and Rotor paused. Three strikes on a metal plate meant one thing...

_Don't tell me_, she thought.

Clack. Clack. Clack.

_Yep. That's it._

"Here comes another one," said Rotor.

Sonic stood there, looking confused, holding the cup of coffee. Tails looked befuddled as well.

The second Gizoid landed somewhere outside of Acorn Village, and the aftershock was powerful enough to knock the coffee cup out of Sonic's hand and spilling all over the blue hedgehog.

"Hot, hot, hot, hot...!" He ran around for a minute or so.

"That's..." Tails said.

_He seems familiar with the shaking caused by Gizoid battles_, Sally thought.

Elias entered the old hangar.

"Two raids in two days," he said wearily. "That's pretty rough."

Sally hoisted her rifle up onto her shoulder.

"It's probably payback for yesterday," she said.

Rotor was pouring cold water onto Sonic to cool off his coffee burns.

"It doesn't matter why they're here; we're gonna take 'em out just the same!" he shouted.

He seemed to shout a lot. Sally wondered if he was always like this.

"Well, I'm sorry to say that I didn't ask your opinion, Sonic," Sally said, picking up a pistol from a nearby table and holding it out to him. "You _do_ know how to use a gun, right?"

Sonic let out a 'heh!'. "Of course! Who the hell do you think I am?"

Then promptly holstered the pistol down the front of his pants.

Sally put her face in her hand. This man was hopeless. She'd have preferred it if he said he wouldn't be caught dead using one.

Sonic smacked Tails's back.

"Tails, you're in Emerl," he said, smirking at Tails again.

"No, Sonic. You do it. I'll just-..."

"C'mon, Tails, I know you can do this."

"But..." Tails trailed off.

Sonic smacked his back again, this time hard enough to make Tails wheeze.

"We're counting on you!"

Then he ran off with the other Acorn villagers, his sword slung over his back and the pistol still in his pants. Tails could hear one of the villagers calling back, "Don't let them get near the village! Take them out before they can get a foothold!"

Suddenly, Tails said, "Hey, where _is_ Emerl?"

"Come this way," said Rotor.

In the side room that Rotor led him to, Tails saw Emerl. Much shinier than he remembered. Emerl was covered in the dirt and grit of having been buried underground for goodness knew how many years. Now, it wasn't.

"How did...?"

"I was up all night polishing it," said Rotor, beaming. "What do you think?"

"He looks like he was built yesterday," Tails smiled at Rotor. "Thanks."

Rotor gave him a thumbs-up.

"Now, just insert your Core Drill and give the 'Spin Start' order."

Tails froze at this wall of unfamiliar terms.

"'Spin Start'? 'Core Drill'?"

"The Core Drill is that thing you're wearing on your neck," explain Rotor, indicating Tails's drill pendant. "Spin Start is how to start it up, apparently. At least, according to its internal memory banks."

Tails nodded uncertainly, before hopping into Emerl and placing the Core Drill in the slot in Emerl's central display...

"Spin Start."

And turned it.

Nothing happened.

_What?_ Tails thought.

"Problems again?" asked Rotor.

_I knew it_, Tails thought. _I knew I'm useless._

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

"Alright, you uppity Möbian filth!" shouted the surviving Gizoid from the day before.

"It's time to take out the trash!" said the new one, a frog-like Gizoid.

Then they began doing squats and stretch exercises, chanting "One-two..." over and over.

"Look at 'em, thinking they're so tough," Sonic snarked.

"Don't get cocky, Sonic," warned Elias.

"Whatever," he said, reaching for his katana. "Time to rock and roll!"

Clack. Clack. Clack.

Everyone turned.

Clack. Clack. Clack.

"_Another_ one?" said Elias. "Three Gizoids in one day?"

"You might want to cover your ears, Sonic Hedgehog," warned Sally.

After a moment's silence - apart from the two Gizoids' "One-two..." - a silvery shape descended to the earth.

And the earth shook.

"Wh-what the hell...?" Sonic shouted.

When the dust cleared, a silver Gizoid was half-buried in the impact zone. It had a pointed nose, a snarling lion's maw, and a pair of transparent-red blades on its back, intersecting many long spines.

A pair of cobalt-blue eyes opened.

Arms and legs extended out from its ovoid body.

And Giznaur let out a roar.

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

Tails crouched as low as he could in the inert Emerl's cockpit, trying to keep himself from getting harmed by the potentially falling rocks.

This was just like...

Tails's eyes opened wide in realisation.

And horror.

_It was them!_ he thought. _The Gizoids...!_

_"Tails! GO!"_

_"Sweetie, stay back!"_

_"Mom! Dad! NOOOoooo...!"_

_The sound of falling rocks... The crunch of cracking bones..._

"They caused them...!" Tails growled, gripping Emerl's controls. Emerl's display lit up with emerald light.

Rotor backed away from Emerl with a start.

"All those earthquakes were their fault!" There was something primal in Tails's eyes now.

Emerl's eyes lit up green for a moment.

"It's their fault that my mom and dad are...!"

The two plates under Emerl's eyes parted, revealing a mouth.

And Tails and Emerl let out a roar.

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

The trio of hostile Gizoids advanced towards Acorn Village, but it was clear that the first two arrivals were just flunkies, given that bullets actually seemed to leave dents in their armor, and were able to be deterred at least a little. The silver one was not even phased by the villagers' gunfire, and tore into the areas where bullets came from with its twin crimson blades.

"That one's tough..." Sonic noted, awe in his tone. He'd stopped smiling.

_It's good to know he knows when things have gotten serious. _"I've never seen that Gizoid before," Sally said.

Sonic smiled. "I like the face on that one. It looks pretty cool!"

Sally sighed inside.

The silver Gizoid had reached the valley leading up to the main entrance to Acorn Village. Elias and his corps opened fire from behind a rock that, from outside the valley, looked to be just a part of the valley wall. And then, just as the silver Gizoid turned to face them...

_Come on, Bunnie! _Sally thought. _What's the hold-up?_

Then the valley wall over the silver Gizoid exploded, burying it in rubble.

"What the...?" Sonic asked.

"Bunnie loaded up the valley cliffs with explosives," Sally said, a relieved smile on her face because she would not have to bury her brother today. "That worked beautifully!"

She gave a thumbs-up to the rabbit girl on top of the valley wall, who returned it with her cyborg left arm.

"What happened to her...?" Sonic asked.

"Gizoid attack; what else?" Sally replied, taking this opportunity to reload. "A Gizoid smashed the rock wall and the boulders crushed her legs and left arm. She had to have them replaced, because we don't have the proper equipment to-..."

A roar from the fallen rocks gave Sonic and Sally a start.

In a flash of red light, the silver Gizoid leapt out, slicing through the stones as though they were wet paper with now-glowing swords.

"That one's persistent!" Sally cried out.

"That's alright!" Sonic smirked, a determined glint visible behind his shades. "That thing's giving me the chills just _looking _at it!"

Then he said the eight words that firmly cemented Sonic in Sally's mind as being completely out of his.

"That settles it! I'm gonna steal that Gizoid!"

Sally prided herself on being rather intelligent. From that day to her dying moments, she wished she could have said something more intellectual than this:

"What did you say?"

Sonic kept on _smirking_.

"I _said_ I'm gonna pilot that thing!" he reiterated. "Those Black Hands, or whatever they're called, pilot those things no problem, right? So, there's nothing to say that _I _can't, either!"

"I have no idea where you get your confidence from," Sally muttered to herself. "Can't you act like an adult in this situation?"

Sonic heard her. "I'm not an adult; I'm a _man_! And with men, all that matters is actions, not words!"

"Just because you seem to keep forgetting it, I'm a _woman_!" This man was so infuriating sometimes. Sally barely knew him a day and already he was making her think he wasn't there when the brains were handed out.

A yellow flash emerged from Acorn's hangar.

"Sonic!" came Tails's yell from Emerl.

"You showed up just in time, little bro!" Sonic leapt into the air, landing just behind Tails, on top of Emerl.

Elias watched as Sonic landed in Emerl, which then, after a minute or two, made a bee-line for the silver Gizoid.

"What's with that guy...?" he asked himself.

"Sonic, it was them!" Tails shouted over Emerl's footfalls. "The tremors they cause in their battles up here end up as earthquakes down below!"

"Oh, so that's-..." then Sonic realized what this meant to Tails. "Ohhh..."

"Those bastards murdered my mom and dad!" Tails yelled.

Sonic didn't like that scary look in Tails's eyes. It didn't suit him.

"Tails, I'm glad to see you worked up into a battle frenzy, but calm down," Sonic said, loosening his smile a little. Just a little. "In battle, it's good to get fired up, but you gotta keep cool up here," tapping his forehead.

Then he hitched his grin back.

"Listen up, Tails! I'm gonna help myself out to that shiny one over there."

This snapped Tails out of his berserker mindset, and brought him a few pegs further down to his normal behavior.

"I think I can take control of it by getting into the cockpit in its mouth."

"But how will you control it?"

"How did you know how to pilot Emerl?"

"It's just like..." Tails gripped the controls tighter. "...the knowledge came flowing into me when I grabbed the controls."

_That easy, huh? Cool!_ "That's what _I'll_ do, then! That means that fighting spirit is what's _really _important with the Gizoids!"

"I think there might be more to it than that..." Tails muttered.

"Whatever, just take us in!" shouted Sonic.

"That doesn't sound very cool-headed to me!" Tails shouted, but turned to the silver Gizoid anyway.

The frog Gizoid came from out of nowhere and swung its fist at them.

Emerl leapt up its arm and off of its head to try to reach the silver Gizoid.

The frog Gizoid spun around and swung its other fist at Emerl.

Under the circumstances of a fist large enough to crush him in its grip coming at him, Sonic figured it was excusable for a man like himself to scream.

Apparently, so did Tails as the canopy closed around them.

A blast of blue knocked the arm just a nudge further to the right, and it grazed Emerl's left side such that the small Gizoid began to spin rapidly.

Sonic and Tails screamed in dizziness _and _belated fright.

"Geez, why do I need to keep backing that guy up?" Sally asked as she drew the sniper rifle to point back at yesterday's Gizoid. Meanwhile, the frog Gizoid's fist accidentally sent the silver one falling backwards; the frog Gizoid's pilot growled hastily, "I-I'm sorry, sir!"

Emerl's canopy opened again, and Sonic leapt out onto the now-fallen silver Gizoid.

"You're mine!" he shouted as he landed on its face. "That body gives me the chills every time I look at it!"

Chuckling to himself, he pulled out the gun.

And began slamming it against the cockpit door.

Sonic kept slamming the gun against the cockpit door, woefully unaware of the fact that, typically, one did not hold a gun upside-down. Or pointing at oneself.

_BANG!_

The bullet shot between Sonic's legs with enough closeness to his manhood that he broke out into a sweat.

Did guns work like this?

"Wh-what the-...?"

The frog Gizoid was back. "Get off of Commander Nebgras's head, Möbian!" its pilot shouted from inside.

Emerl's fists stopped it.

"Tails! Good timing!" Sonic said.

"You won't lay a hand on my brother!" he shouted, and Emerl's crest sprouted a drill the size of Emerl itself that shattered the frog Gizoid's arm. The frog Gizoid, sensing its efforts to be futile, retreated to aid its other comrade. Emerl's drill turned to green light and dissipated.

Tails guided Emerl's hands to pry at the silver Gizoid's inner jaws.

"Just... give me a minute... Sonic!"

Eventually, Emerl had pried open the Gizoid's jaws, revealing a very shocked Black Arms inside. This one had black fur all over and red fur on its hands and feet. Its yellow eyes were wide with fear. Sonic pointed his pistol at the Black Arms - still holding it upside down, but at least not at himself.

"Get out," he smirked. "I'm taking over."

With a gun to his head, the Gizoid operator didn't need telling twice; he bounded out without a second thought. Sonic leapt in and took the controls even before the cockpit doors closed fully.

"Oh yeah!" he yelled triumphantly. "It's all about the fighting spirit!"

And then, Sonic realized something.

Apparently, red flashing lights meant that this Gizoid would not accept him as a pilot.

"They stole the Giznaur!" shouted the Gizoid from the day before. "_And_ they killed Commander Nebgras!"

"Stinking Möbians!" said the now-one-armed frog Gizoid. "You'll pay for this!"

A small black-and-red shape was hopping up and down in fury.

"You fracking idiots!" Nebgras shouted. "I'm not dead yet!"

That's when the frog Gizoid, not noticing him, stepped on his foot.

"How dare you kill Commander Nebgras!" it said, kicking the immobile Giznaur.

"This is for the Commander!" shouted the other Gizoid, punching Giznaur.

"Sonic!" shouted Tails. But before he could go to help Sonic...

"I'm sending you to Hell, too, pipsqueak!" shouted the frog Gizoid, grabbing Emerl and tossing it at Giznaur.

Emerl bounced off and left an impact crater in the earth when it landed.

Giznaur landed, by bizarre coincidence, on top of the grave dug just the previous night.

Sally watched from her sniper position, stunned. Sonic had managed to _steal _that Gizoid, but couldn't get it to work for some reason. Now, with the silver Gizoid fallen, it was just a matter of time until its former pilot got it back... and Sonic would not likely survive that.

_合体なんてクソくらえ__!_

"Damn it, Sonic..." Sonic muttered to himself. "What's slowing you down?"

He glowered at the computer screens that lined the walls of the cockpit. "Let's see some fighting spirit!"

He slammed his fist against the back of screens on his left.

The screens showed a skull.  
Not just any skull.

The skull of the poor bastard's skeleton they found the previous night.

Sonic's heart caught in his chest; that skull's shape...

It was a _hedgehog's_ skull!

_So... someone like _me _died out here? _he thought. His heart pounded in his ears as his own mortality flashed up on the screen in front of him.

_No._

_No. I won't let something like death slow me down. I won't let this happen to me! I'm not gonna die! I'm gonna LIVE!_

The Gizoid's fist slammed down on the grave, and the red lights and alarms gave way to green lights, affirmative _ping_s, and finally, _finally_, visuals of the battlefield.

"Don't fuck with me... you Gizoid bastards!" Sonic growled.

And Giznaur stood, under the command of the Freedom Fighters.

"_WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM?_"

_俺を誰だと思ってやがるキック_

Tails couldn't move Emerl. He was scared, and it wasn't moving for some reason. Now the two other Gizoids stood overhead, and he was almost certainly dead.

He passed out.

"It's all over for you, runt!" said the frog Gizoid, lifting its foot.

Then the air outside Acorn Village was rent with an echoing battle cry that struck everyone with such shock and awe that, against their greater instincts, turned to witness the attack.

"'WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM' KIII~ICK!"

The silver Gizoid let out a yell in Sonic's voice, slamming its feet into the frog Gizoid with such force that its legs collapsed into themselves.

Evidently undaunted, the silver Gizoid pulled back its green-glowing left fist to strike the frog Gizoid which had fallen backwards into its battle companion.

"'YOU WON'T LAY A FINGER ON MY LITTLE BROTHER' PUUU~UNCH!"

The fist hit so hard that the arm behind it shatrered and both the enemy Gizoids were sent flying into the valley wall, flying past several stunned Acorn villagers, disappearing into a cloud of dust.

Then the remnants of the silver Gizoid - its right arm its only intact appendage - knelt to face the immobile Emerl.

"Tails? Tails!" shouted Sonic's voice.

_よくも俺の可愛い子分をパンチ_

Tails opened his eyes slowly, and saw the silver Gizoid - the other two called it _Giznaur_ - looming over him.

"S-Sonic?" he said groggily.

"Sorry about that, big guy," said Sonic's voice from Giznaur. "Got a bit held up back there." Giznaur picked up Emerl in its remaining hand. "Let's take 'em out together, Tails."

"Right!" smiled Tails.

Then Sonic clenched Giznaur's fist around Emerl.

"Wai- What?"

"_You're_ gonna deliver the killing blow, Tails! Let's do it to it!"

Giznaur brought its fist back, like a pitcher at the plate.

"Take this! Finishing Move! Perfect Combustion of the Souls of Men! CANNONBALL ATTACK!"

And with that, Giznaur hurled Emerl at their still-recovering enemies.

Tears of fright poured down Tails's face.

"This is so messed up!" he yelled.

Even so, Emerl spun around, a drill encompassing the lower half of its body and pointing towards the enemy Gizoids.

The clouds of kicked-up dirt were split in a spiral and parted with Emerl's passing. Acorn's villagers covered their heads.

The frog Gizoid ducked Emerl; the other hopped it.

Emerl burrowed a tunnel into the wall.

"Ha!" shouted the Gizoid from yesterday.

"You missed!" the frog Gizoid added.

"Oh, did we?" smirked Sonic.

_男の魂完全燃焼キャノンボールアタック_

Inside Emerl, Tails gritted his teeth, "I guess I have to do it!"

Spinning Emerl around, Tails launched Emerl out of the wall he'd burrowed into in the first place, and before the enemy Gizoids could even realize that they had been suckered, they had been drilled straight through. All that remained after the ensuing double explosion were their arms and legs.

Giznaur caught Emerl in its hand.

"G-give me a break, Sonic," Tails murmured in the cockpit.

Kukku emerged and hugged Tails, the ball over his head turning into a heart. "Chao..."

Tails smiled.

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

Nebgras lay stunned on the ground.

"Th-th-they're all dead!" he stammered, before running away... as quickly as he could with one foot crushed into pulp.

He would have to find the base and tell the General of this development.

He was going to be furious.

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

"Wow..." said Elias.

Sally's jaw had dropped. Then she smiled. "That was actually pretty cool."

Rotor appeared at her side. "Oh, so he's your type, huh?" he said with a sly smile.

"What are you talking about?" she glared.

Rotor ignored this, and looked at Giznaur and Emerl with admiration. "Well, I gotta admit, this is pretty interesting. _Hijacking_ a Gizoid isn't something that ever occured to us. These kids will make a good addition to our resistance."

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

That evening, the wounded patched up, the remains of the Gizoids gathered into the hangar, Sonic and Tails stood before their two Gizoids.

"I've decided," said Sonic, pushing up his shades. "I'm naming it Freedom."

Tails nodded, smiling. This was a scary day, but thanks to Sonic capturing that Gizoid, the day was theirs.

"Together, with me in my Freedom and you in your Emerl, Tails, there's nothing and nobody who can stand in our way!"

Sonic looked up at the emerging Moon, and Tails heard Sonic mutter under his breath four words:

"Wait for me, Dad..."

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

That night, Sonic had told Sally that the skeleton they'd buried nearly twenty-four hours before had been unearthed in his hijacking of Freedom. She was slightly irritated, but agreed to help him set things to right.

"Hey, pal. It's me again," Sonic said, standing over the hedgehog skeleton, a shovel over his shoulder. "Sorry to wake you from your eternal rest earlier today. I guess I got a little wild, but don't go holding it against me, okay?"

Moonlight glinted off of something on the skeleton's wrist.

Sonic's eyes were drawn to it.

A bracelet...

With a chain attached to it...

Leading to a small skull-pendant.

Sonic's heart stopped.

The shovel dropped.

"No way! It can't be!" Sonic swept the dirt away from the skeleton, pulling it out of the dirt. The feeling of touching a skeleton was atrocious, but... he had to know.

"It's impossible!"

It wasn't impossible, it turned out. Unearthed, Sonic saw, fastened around the hedgehog skeleton's thin neck, the tattered remnants of a red cape with a flaming-skull-with-pointed-shades sewn onto the back.

Sonic's eyes burned.

Images of an older blue hedgehog ruffling his hair, then disappearing into the sunset, appeared in his mind.

"Dad..."

Behind him, everyone's eyes widened in horror.

Tears streamed down Sonic's face.

"You bought it out here?"

He was a man. He wasn't supposed to cry. But... his dad... his dad was supposed to wait for him... to come to the surface... but now... but now...

"You didn't wait... You died too soon!"

He screamed to the heavens.

"DAAA~AD!"

**つづく  
To be continued...**

**

* * *

**

次回予告  
Next Episode Preview

This face of mine is the only advertisement I need! What the hell kinda person wants to pick a fight with someone as noble as me?

Next time on _Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl_: _**"You're One Cocky Bastard, With Those Two Faces of Yours!"**_


	6. Chapter 5

_(There was a reference to _Macross Frontier _last chapter. There will be a reference to _Neon Genesis Evangelion _this chapter! Whoever can point them out gets a virtual cookie!_

_This chapter is the introduction of... well, you'll see who I introduce here!)_

_

* * *

_

"So there I was, with the giant Gizoid's hand coming at me! Sonic The Hedgehog himself had fallen into a big pinch!"

There he was, boasting away about the battle earlier that day. Sally's fellow Acorn villagers were gathered around the fire, while Sonic danced wildly about it, regaling in the 'badassery' of his comandeering of Freedom.

And it wasn't even an hour after Sonic found his father's skeleton.

And he was acting like this...

"Suddenly, Emerl, piloted by my kid brother Tails, stopped the Gizoid's hand! His shout rang out, 'You won't lay a hand on my brother!' And as he said it, a drill emerged and shattered the Gizoid's arm! It's only because of Tails that I'm standing here right now! Thank you, Tails! My friend! My _brother_!"

Sonic pointed to the sky.

"Then Tails forced open Freedom's hatch, and this is what I said to the Black Arms that was piloting it...!"

At this point, Sally tuned Sonic out and walked over to Tails, who was still sitting in Emerl, avoiding the celebrations.

This was oddly beneficial to Sally; she didn't want Sonic to overhear her question. (Then again, with his bombastic retelling of the battle, that was unlikely to begin with.)

"Look at the other hero of the day," she said, smiling at him.

Tails looked up at her, then looked down at his shoes again. "Me? I'm no hero. Sonic's the one who won by taking Freedom. If he hadn't..."

"He's right, you know," Sally told him. "If you hadn't stopped that frog Gizoid from crushing him, he wouldn't be here dancing himself dizzy over how you saved his skin."

Tails didn't seem fazed by this.

And Sally decided to pose her question.

"Tell me... Is he alright?"

Tails looked at her fully now.

"Sonic? He wasn't even really hurt, so why...?"

"No. I mean, the whole reason he wanted to go to the surface to begin with is so that he could meet his father again. But now he's found out that his father's been dead all this time. He's pretending not to care, but that had to have come as a shock, right?"

Tails looked up at Freedom. The twin translucent-red blades that were once wielded by Giznaur had been melted together to form a Freedom-sized pair of Sonic's shades for the captured Gizoid.

"I think it's different," he said.

Sally looked at him, confused.

"He didn't want to see his father," Tails said. "He hated himself for not being able to go with his dad to begin with. That's why he wanted to find his dad: To show him that he was a man who could make it up here."

Sally turned this over in her head, and it all came around to the same conclusion to her.

"But doesn't that still boil down to him wanting to be reunited with his father?"

Tails shook his head vigorously.

"No! It's different! Totally different!"

He bowed his head, looking at his feet again.

"...I think."

"I don't really follow you," Sally said.

"Sorry. It's hard to explain."

Sally decided not to press further.

"It's alright," she said as she walked off. She called back to Tails, "Sorry for asking such a strange question. I hope he really _is_ alright."

If she had eyes in the back of her head, Sally would have seen Tails's blush as he watched her retreating figure.

**CHAPTER FIVE:  
You're One Cocky Bastard, With Those Two Faces of Yours!**

"Man, Rotor did a good job fixing Freedom up," Tails said. Night had come and gone, and it was now the start of his and Sonic's second full day on the surface. It was surprisingly cool out, so Tails decided to pull on a jacket he'd had tied around his waist when he found Emerl. He'd since deposited it under Emerl's seat until today.

"Rotor said that he combined the arms and legs of the other two Gizoids into Freedom," said Sonic, pushing up his shades. "I gotta admit, though, its old arms were kinda flimsy."

Tails looked over Freedom's new limbs. Its arms were taken wholesale from one of the three Gizoids that attacked when he and Sonic first came to the surface, and fought alongside Giznaur before its commanding Gizoid was taken by Sonic. Its legs served as Freedom's new legs, although the frog Gizoid's legs served as Freedom's feet.

"What's that symbol on your back, Tails?"

Sally had shown up, carrying her rifle and a quiver of arrows.

Sonic smirked, indicating the same logo on Freedom's forearms; he'd painted it on - surprisingly well - after Rotor had fixed Freedom up. "You like it? That's..."

He posed dramatically.

"The symbol of the Freedom Fighters!"

Tails turned his jacket around just enough to admire the same emblem on his back.

Sally nodded vaguely, then asked, "So, wanna go help me gather food?"

Sonic's demeanor cooled quite a bit. "Wait. What happens if the Gizoids attack again while we're out?"

"I don't think so," Sally shook her head. "They usually don't attack two days in a row; the last two days were just a fluke. Plus, once the morning hours have passed, we can rest easy knowing that they're not going to attack the rest of the day."

"Whoa... Really?" said Sonic.

"They may be ruthless killers, but even they seem to have rules that they operate by. And while we're not fighting, we have to stock up on food and water." Sally adjusted her rifle's shoulder strap, smiling at Sonic. "Now, you gonna come with me?"

"Of course!" said Sonic.

Then he turned to Tails.

"Tails, let's go!"

Sally's face fell.

Tails pointed at himself.

"What? Me? You want me to come along?"

Sally looked sullen for some reason.

"I guess."

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

"So, these weapons were part of some sort of storage warehouse under Acorn Village?" Sonic asked as they hunted. They had sent Tails off in Emerl to pump swamp water out into barrels, to be filtrated later for drinking and bathing.

"That's right," Sally said, aiming at a white sand alligator rabbit. _Eh_, she thought. _That one looks sickly._ She turned her gaze elsewhere. "But then a poison gas leak from the warehouse forced us to the surface. It seems like it was built hundreds of years ago, long before any of us were born."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Sally let out a very short chuckle that could have easily been mistaken for a cough. "It's ironic, isn't it? The very weapons that drove us to the surface, are the weapons we use to survive, whether by hunting for food or by fighting off Gizoids."

_A pursuit heron_, she thought, aiming her rifle._ Those have good protein benefits._

She fired.

The pursuit heron fell in its pursuit of a fish, an arrow in its throat.

"Got it!" Sally pulled back the chamber of her rifle and pulled out another arrow from her quiver. "This gun is powered by electricity, so if I swap out the bullets for arrows..."

She pointed to something in the distance. "See that drooling grape hippo?"

"Yeah," Sonic said. He'd temporarily removed his shades.

"I'm gonna get it square between the eyes, okay?"

"Alright, let's see it!"

She did. It took the drooling grape hippo a whole ten seconds between getting struck and falling over.

"Wow, you're good," Sonic said, sounding genuinely impressed.

"I'm the best shot in the village," Sally said smilingly. "That's why they let me use Nicole here."

"'Nicole'?" Sonic asked.

"That's my nickname for this rifle," Sally patted the rifle. "She's saved my life quite a few times. Wanna take her for a spin?"

Sonic's eyes went wide. "Can I?"

Sally released her grip on the barrel and trigger.

"Now, you just put your hand here... No, _there_... put your other hand there... put your shoulder behind here, for balance... and you look through the sniper scope _here _and shoot at what you want to eat."

Sally was impressed. Less than a minute after leasing control of Nicole over to Sonic, he'd nailed a flying raccoon at 30 meters. Those things were quick flyers, and the fact that a novice gunner got one...

"Wow." That pretty much summed it up.

"I'll go get it!" Sonic darted off past Sally to collect his game.

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

"Let's see... It landed around here somewhere..." Sonic said, pushing his way through the tall grass.

Aha!

"There it is!"

Sonic approached his fallen prey...

And heard rustling to his right.

He turned... And saw a black shape approaching him rapidly.

_萌えろ三姉妹_

Elias shook his head wearily as Rotor typed away madly at his computer console. "Rotor, this is the second all-nighter in a row you've pulled. Why don't you get some rest?"

"I can't," said Rotor brightly, the only signs of fatigue being the dark circles under his eyes. "Not with all this data that I collected from Emerl. The sooner I collate it all, the sooner we can figure out what makes Emerl - and potentially, all Gizoids - tick."

"I guess..." Elias sighed.

"Elahh-iss," said Bunnie, entering the hangar.

"What's up, Bunnie?" Elias asked.

"We'all got ahh-selves some visitahhs," she said, pointing out of the hangar with her cyborg thumb. "Ah think y'all'd be int'rested in meeting 'em."

"Visitors?" Elias asked.

Outside were three warble-runners, facing away from him - warble-runners typically traveled by running backwards - each with a rider in all-black robes and tall black hoods covering their faces.

"Are you the leader of this village?" the head of the group asked. It was a woman, judging from her voice.

"Y-yeah," Elias replied shakily. He couldn't tell if she and her posse were friendly or hostile, so he gave the secret Acorn Village signal for all nearby villagers to discreetly train arms on these individuals until he could be certain they came on peaceful terms. "And... you are...?"

"Excuse this..." said the head of the group, removing her hood.

The first thing Elias saw were the wavy brown locks.

The next were the bright-green eyes.

And his heart skipped a beat.

"I'm Megan of the Wandering Orphans," said the squirrel-chipmunk woman before him as she hopped down from the lead warble-runner.

"'The Wanderin' Aw-fins'?" repeated Bunnie. "Who in tahnation..." She realized that Elias had not spoken a word since Meg had removed her hood.

"Hey, Elahh-iss!" Bunnie smacked Elias on the back with her metal hand; he didn't budge. "Don't git all stiff ovah a gal 'foh y'all reallehh know 'er!"

Meg giggled to herself, blushing a little as she looked at Elias.

"'The Wandering Orphans'?" said Rotor, emerging from his calculations into the sunlight. "I've heard of them."

Elias shook his head vigorously.

"Y-you have?" he asked, diverting his attention from the _angel who had descended from heaven right in front of him_...

"Sure have," said Rotor as Meg's two companions disembarked from their own warble-runner mounts and removed their own black outer-garments. "They're a group of Black Arms hunters who travel from village to village, having lost each of their own."

"We're not really siblings, but we look out for each other as though we were blood," said Meg, indicating her two companions, a lavender cat and an orange raccoon.

The cat bowed slightly. "My name is Blaze. I am pleased to meet you."

The raccoon put her fist in the air. "Arvo, mates! I'm Marine! It's bonzer meeting you, mates!"

"...I don't mean to be rude, but does the raccoon even speak our language?" asked Elias.

"Oy!" Marine got quite irritant. "Everyone in Windmill Village 'ad an accent like this, so don't pick a blue over it!"

"Please calm down, Marine," said Blaze, raising a hand in caution. "He meant nothing by it."

"I know!" Marine crossed her arms, looking quite pleased with herself. "I just like to go off on blokes in every village we stop by! So don't whinge about it."

Meg sighed softly.

By now, Elias had silently signaled the all-clear that these were a benevolent bunch, and many men - and a couple women as well - gathered around in interest at this new group that had arrived, the Wandering Orphans.

"Three girls..."

"They're like sisters!"

"There's one more member, as I recall," said Rotor, indirectly asking a question. "But if you've come to our village, then that means..."

"Yes," said Meg darkly. "A Gizoid more powerful than any ordinary Gizoid is approaching this village."

Any joviality at the arrival of three girls evaporated almost instantly.

"What...?" Elias asked.

"It seems like it's just on reconnaissance right now, but we don't think it will playing that game very long," said Blaze. "We suspect that it will attack tomorrow."

"It's the same crook bloke what took out our big bro's village, too!" added Marine.

"Our big brother's off looking for this Gizoid, so he'll let us know if he finds anything," said Meg.

Elias asked Bunnie quietly, "Where are Sally and the others?"

"They's off gettin' food and watahh," she replied.

Elias paled.

"This is bad... I hope they're okay..."

_Nikopol_

Sonic struggled with the black-cloaked figure. It had quite large hands.

"What's your deal, wearing that hood?" Sonic asked. "You must be a Black Arms!"

"Wha...?" the cloaked figure stopped struggling; Sonic had uncovered his secret, and he had stunned his foe with this revelation!

"Take that!" Sonic shouted, punching him where his face was. The hooded figure fell.

"Y-you're a Möbian?" it asked.

"It took you _that _long to figure it out?" Sonic asked, reaching for his katana.

"Wait!" it pulled back its hood. "I'm a Möbian, too!"

So he was. A red echidna with his hair in dreadlocks.

"Whoa," said Sonic, scratching the back of his head. "Sorry 'bout that, pal."

"You're from a nearby village?" said the echidna. "It's dangerous around here, so you might want to go back to your village."

"Do _I_ know 'dangerous'. Good thing for you I didn't bring my Gizoid to the party, or—"

"No."

The echidna was frowning.

"No way do you have a Gizoid! How could you get it in the first place?"

"Well, let's see..." Then Sonic got right in the echidna's face. "Because I stole it, _that's_ how!"

"YOU CAN'T STEAL A GIZOID!"

"WELL, _I_ DID!"

"IT'S IMPOSSIBLE!"

Sonic smirked. "Who the hell do you think I am?"

Then he placed his shades on.

Time to perform.

"Far beyond the farthest horizon, I crawled up from Knothole Village. I have defeated more Gizoids than there are stars in the sky! When you hear them speak of the Freedom Fighters' badass leader, who kicks common sense out and goes _beyond_ the impossible, they're talking about _me_, Sonic The Hedgehog!"

Sonic pointed to the sun dramatically, sunlight glinting off the edge of his shades.

The echidna was silent for a few moments.

"I'm Knuckles of the Wanderi—"

"WHAT THE HELL, MAN?" Sonic interrupted Knuckles, picking up the flying raccoon; a second arrow was sticking out of it. He hadn't noticed it before. "Trying to pass my dinner off for yours? Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Dinner?"

"Don't play dumb! That second arrow's yours, right?"

Knuckles held up both hands. "Do I look like I'm carrying a bow?"

Sonic's blood ran cold.

"Then..." he said.

"That means..." Knuckles continued.

_Twang._

Sonic narrowly dodged an arrow. He drew the pistol; after some instructions from Sally the previous night, he now knew how to hold it.

He listened to the rustle of the tall grass surrounding him and Knuckles.

_There!_ he thought as he fired a shot to his left. Two broken pieces of a bow flew into the air.

_I didn't see any blood_, he thought. _That Black Arms bastard is feinting..._

Sonic rolled into a ball, which was just as good, because the machete that sliced through the air would have separated his head from his body if he were a second too slow.

Knuckles leapt back as the attacker swung his machete at the echidna.

Uncurling, Sonic fired his gun at the machete, deflecting its course so that swung around to cut off the attacker's other arm...

Or so Sonic had it planned out, because the attacker proved to be just as nimble as Sonic was, spinning with the force imparted to his machete, before facing Sonic and Knuckles.

"I'm impressed, blue hedgehog," said the black-with-red-stripes hedgehog. But he was no hedgehog; his colours proved it.

He was a Black Arms.

"Who the hell are you?" said Sonic.

The Black Arms hedgehog slung his machete into its holster on his back and folded his arms.

"I am of the Möbian Suppression Squad, Far East Division..." He opened blood-red eyes. "Commander Shadow."

"Möbian... Suppression Squad...?" Sonic said.

Shadow spoke, "There are two important things to note: firstly, the Möbian Suppression Squad is tasked with annihilating any Möbian foolish enough to travel to the surface. If you resist that fate, blue hedgehog, I will have no choice but to put you down.

"And secondly, that game is _my_ dinner. The arrow of a Black Arms signifies that. You will return it to me."

Sonic held up the flying raccoon by the tail. "If you want it..." he clenched its tail. "Come and take it!"

The flying raccoon squirmed and squawked.

"It's still alive? With two arrows in it?" Shadow recoiled.

"Now!" Knuckles whistled, and a warble-runner darted out. He leapt onto it. "C'mon, Sonic! Hop on!"

"You won't escape!" Shadow called to Sonic.

Sonic leapt back to a safer distance from Shadow, drawing his katana.

"'Escape'? You're insulting me! Who the hell do you think I am? Parents use my name to make their children behave. I am the leader of the Freedom Fighters, Sonic The Hedgehog! And I _never_ turn my back on an enemy!"

Shadow drew his machete. "That bravado will get you killed, blue hedgehog."

"That idiot!" shouted Knuckles, looking back as Sonic and Shadow began fighting.

Shadow definitely held the upper hand. Sonic's katana was forged for a man easily double his height, so he was quite off-balanced by his katana. Shadow was tauntingly only knicking him here and there with his machete, but it was clear that he was the superior swordsman.

"Do you honestly think you can hold your own against a trained soldier?" he called to Sonic.

Suddenly, Sonic drew his hand across Shadow's face, leaving a long slice across Shadow's cheek, droplets of slime-green blood shooting out.

"What the...?" Shadow leapt away from the blue hedgehog.

Sonic threw away the spare arrow he'd tucked into his pant-leg. "Damn, you dodged just in time..."

Shadow flicked away the dribbling blood. "Impressive, Möbian; you managed to injure me. But, you know, a sneak attack is just a sneak attack. It's only a surprise once."

Sonic drew his katana back.

"This is OVER!" shouted Shadow, charging at Sonic, prepared to spill his Möbian entrails all over this grassy field.

"SONIC!"

Emerl leapt in between the dueling hedgehog, and both leapt away.

"Tails! Why are you interrupting our duel between men?" Sonic said.

"Sorry! I came when I heard gunfire," said Emerl in Tails's voice.

Shadow landed on a rock that stood above the tall grass.

"A miniature Gizoid...?"

A glint of light on the nearby cliff.

Shadow leapt aside in time to avoid the bullet.

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

"He spotted my shot from that far away...?" said Sally.

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

Engaging his Hover Shoes, Shadow skated his way through the tall grass, dodging from side to side to throw off the enemy sniper.

"A rebel cell?" Shadow smirked to himself. "Perfect timing!"

Reaching a small mound, Shadow threw himself around it...

And activated his Gizoid.

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

"Oh no!" said Sally as she witnessed the white Gizoid with a kingly crown rise up from behind a seemingly innocent mound.

Emerl had reached her.

"Sal! Hop in!" shouted Sonic. She did.

A red echidna on a warble-runner caught up to them.

"It's you from before..." Sonic said.

"Listen to me!" shouted Knuckles. "If you're thinking what I _think_ you're thinking, then don't! That's ARK, an extremely powerful Gizoid! The most powerful I've ever seen! You don't stand a chance against it!"

"Then I know what I'm gonna do!" grinned Sonic as Emerl reached Freedom's spot just outside Acorn Village. "I'm gonna take him on in Freedom!"

Knuckles looked at Freedom in awe. "That's your Gizoid...? I gotta admit, amateur, to nab yourself a Gizoid like this..."

"If you want one of your own, steal one of your own!" Sonic said as Freedom's cockpit closed.

A small screen opened up next to Sonic's head. Tails was on it.

"Sonic!"

"H-how did you...?"

"Rote calibrated it for us last night," came Sally's voice. A small black screen reading 'SALLY: SOUND ONLY' in red letters appeared beside Tails's screen. "This way, we can stay in contact during battle."

_燃__えてばかりでいいのかい__?_

"So, what's the plan, Sonic?" Tails asked the image on Sonic's face on the back end of Emerl's crest.

"What else? We fight him till we beat him!" Sonic smirked.

"But, he seems like he's a lot tougher than the other enemies we've run into so far, Sonic."

"Don't be afraid, Tails! You've got Emerl! You've got your drill!"

"But..."

"Alright, let's rock and roll!" Sonic's screen disappeared, leaving Tails to shake off his fear.

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

"Aren't you going to fight?" Sally asked the red echidna.

The echidna crossed his arms. "When it gets crazy like this, there's really nothing to be done." He turned to face Sally. "By the way, I'm Knuckles of the Wanderi—"

"Save the introductions for later," said Sally.

Knuckles face-faulted.

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

Freedom approached the white Gizoid, which sported four horns on its head arranged like a crown.

"I was dispatched out here when we received reports that Möbians were stealing Gizoids," ARK's jaws opened and closed in an approximation of Shadow's voice. "But it looks like I'll have this wrapped up before dinner."

Sonic slammed Freedom's face against ARK's, though ARK held a clear height advantage; Freedom didn't even reach the eyes on ARK's chest. "Gizoid? That lame thing isn't its name! This is _Freedom_! You're one cocky bastard, with those two faces of yours!"

"'Faces'? ...Oh, you mean _that_?" ARK indicated the crown-like helm it wore. "It's traditional for a warrior to wear a crested helmet. I don't see where a lowly Möbian like you can get off telling me what it means to be a true warrior!"

"You Black Arms need to make up your minds! Are you Möbians or not?"

Freedom's fist attempted to connect with ARK's jaw, but ARK caught it, and Sonic could not prise it free.

"You acquaint yourself well enough in person, but your Gizoid skills need work!"

ARK bent Freedom's arm back, then slammed against the top of Freedom's head with both fists before kicking the stolen Gizoid away.

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

"Sonic!" Sally shouted, receiving only radio silence from Freedom. She called to Emerl, "Tails! Go back Sonic up!"

"Got it!" said Tails, hopping Emerl down the cliff, rolling the mecha sideways onto the ramp that the cliff-face had formed naturally over thousands of years, before turning the miniature Gizoid so that its legs faced ARK, a drill appearing from nowhere.

Slots along ARK's shoulder blasted out large blades that knocked Emerl out of the air.

"Uhh... lady..." said Knuckles, trying to draw her attention to the incoming weapons.

"What?" Sally said.

Then they hit.

Sally and Knuckles were knocked about, screaming,

_男の魂完全燃焼キャノンボールアタック_

"Get back, Sal! Echidna guy!" shouted Sonic as Emerl landed next to Freedom. "Tails, time to break out the you-know-what!"

"Got it, Sonic!" said Tails.

Freedom picked up Emerl, which produced a drill over the lower half of its body.

Sonic shouted, "Take this! Finishing Move! Perfect Combustion of the Souls of Men! CANNONBALL ATTACK!"

And tossed Emerl at ARK. Tails let out a battle cry.

"Pathetic," said Shadow in ARK, casually sidestepping the flying Emerl.

Emerl dissipated its drill and kicked off from a rock in the field, turning in midair so that its drill faced ARK again, Tails screaming in the adrenaline rush...

And ARK kicked Emerl out of the air, the miniature Gizoid embedding in a cliff wall.

And Freedom waddled its way towards ARK.

And ARK kicked out Freedom's feet from under it.

And as Freedom hung in midair...

"I thought I told you:" Shadow sounded almost disappointed. "A sneak attack is a sneak attack. It's only a surprise _ONCE!_"

With a double-fisted attack, ARK knocked Freedom into the wall just under Emerl.

Sally picked herself up. "Sonic! Tails! He's wiping the floor with you!"

"It's over. You could have avoided a terrible fate if you surrendered your Gizoids and went back underground, but now, I will send you to the deepest pits! You're going straight to HELL! Chaos..."

The points on ARK's crown-like helmet glowed red, gathering together in a red sun hovering just over its head. ARK rotated its neck so that this energy cannon faced the dust cloud where Freedom and Emerl were hidden...

"...BLAST!"

The crimson energy attack tore into the cliff-face, turning the sky red.

Sally's heart fell into her stomach.

"Don't tell me those guys..." said Knuckles, using his hand to shield his eyes from the sunlight.

But when the smoke cleared, there were no traces of either Freedom or Emerl.

"They're gone?" Shadow said from within ARK. "They've mastered the art of running away, I see..."

Then the sun touched the horizon.

Sally could have sworn that ARK let out a sigh.

"Very well," said Shadow's voice as ARK slouched off into the distance. "Wherever you've hidden, we settle this tomorrow, blue hedgehog."

Sally sat their on her knees, stunned at the sheer power of the Gizoid she had just seen...

The sound of falling earth.

Sally looked in the direction of the sound.

There, emerging from a freshly-dug tunnel, were Freedom and Emerl.

She sighed in relief. They were safe.

That was all that mattered.

"Uhh... By the way, I'm Knuckles of the Wanderi—"

_That was all that mattered._

"I'm sorry, but can you tell me later?"

Knuckles fell over in frustration.

_テイルス_

Tails sat shuddering in Emerl's cockpit. This guy was a lot more powerful than anything they could have imagined in their worst nightmares, and they would have died were it not for his digging a tunnel at the last moment.

_I can't do this_, he thought. _I can't. This is too much... I can't keep fighting on the surface. I don't want to die, and I don't want to see Sonic die._

_I don't want to end up like his dad..._

**つづく  
To be continued...**

**

* * *

**

次回予告  
Next Episode Preview

Does having a lot of faces make you great? No way! Having a lot of souls doesn't make you great, either! Having a lot of _burning_ souls is what counts!

Next time on _Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl_: _**"That's What It Means To Be Partners"**_.


	7. Chapter 6

_(Chapter Six! Sorry this is so late. Real life got in the way, y'know. Bug infestations, buying _Evangelion 1.11_, downloading _Evangelion 2.22_, wondering when info's gonna come out on _Evangelion 3.0_. Y'know, all that jazz.)_

Rotor, for all of his scientific genius and mechanical know-how, could only really sum up the damage to Freedom in its battle with ARK in five words.

"It was really badly damaged."

Elias nodded in understanding, before turning to face the four new arrivals: The Wandering Orphans.

"That Black Arms that looked like a hedgehog," said Knuckles, "He said something about a Möbian Suppression Squad."

"Are ya serious, big bro?" asked Marine.

Knuckles nodded. "And I don't think that 'Squad' means we're dealing with a small group of creatures here. He said he was Commander of the 'Far East Division'."

"An army, you mean," said Elias, sighing. "The Black Arms really _are _serious, then. They won't let a single Möbian slip through the cracks and live on the surface."

**CHAPTER SIX:  
That's What It Means To Be Partners**

"Tails, why did you dig a tunnel?" Sonic said through half a mouth of grape-hippo leg. Tails had rarely heard Sonic sound disappointed, and it was a very disheartening thing to hear. He bowed his head, looking at the shadow the Moon cast on him.

"I wanted to run away," Tails explained. "Let's go back to Knothole, Sonic. They got lots of people up here to fight with them. They got Elias and Knuckles and the Wandering Orphans and so many other people to handle this stuff. I don't wanna die, and I don't want to see you die, either. If we stay up here much longer, you're gonna end up like your dad!"

The sound of Sonic tossing the leftover bone from the grape-hippo leg met Tails's ears. Turning to look, he saw Sonic hopping down from the mound they were sitting on, before pointing to the sky again.

"C'mon, Tails!" he said. "Your drill is the drill that will pierce the heavens! It's not meant for running away!"

"But..."

"I'm gonna go count some Z's, Tails," Sonic said, flashing one last grin at Tails before walking towards the village. "You should, too. Night."

Tails sat there, feeling down about his circumstances. Kukku hovered by his head, softly cooing 'Chao' in sadness at his master's sadness.

_How can we possibly win if that guy comes back tomorrow?_ he thought.

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

Sonic entered the hangar where Rotor was now back to work knocking the dents out of Freedom's silvery plating.

"Sonic."

Sonic turned.

Sally had her arms crossed as she leaned against the sliding door. She was scowling.

"There's something we need to talk about," she said.

"What's that, Sal?" Sonic said, putting a hand on the door, just over her shoulder. "You want me to sleep with you tonight?"

"No," she said sharply and seriously. "It's a more serious subject I would like to speak to you about."

From her tone, Sonic knew that he should stop playing around.

So he stood back from Sally.

"I'll pilot Emerl."

Sonic stared in confusion.

"Yeah, well, Tails is the pilot, so why-..."

"No. When that Shadow guy comes back tomorrow, I'm gonna pilot Emerl. I'm more used to fighting than he is. You saw what happened when the going got tough earlier today; Tails ran away! He's just not the fighting type."

Sonic turned away from Sally, looking up at Freedom. "Tails will pull through tomorrow."

Sally balled up her fists. "How? What exactly do you think will happen that will make tomorrow any different from today? Why do you have such faith in him?"

Sonic scratched his head. "Y'know, there's no real logic to it, I guess."

Sally loosened up slightly, but was by no means dissuaded. "Then what is it?"

"It's all the same to me," said Sonic, looking at some point beyond the ceiling. "I believe in him because I believe in myself. And because I can believe in him, I can believe in myself. It's all the same to me."

He turned to Sally, wearing That Smirk.

"That's what it means to be partners."

And he gave her one last thumbs-up before walking to his quarters.

"You know..." Sally said to herself. "I have no idea what you're on about."

_狼が来た__!_

Sonic was set with Freedom at sunrise. As were every one of Acorn Village's gunmen, and the Wandering Orphans.

"Don't put yourself out on our account," said Elias into his communicator microphone. "This is our home, and if we don't stop this Shadow guy, we'll lose it." He smiled a little to himself. "Besides, here we are looking at someone who got himself a great weapon by doing something crazy."

"You guys got guts, I'll give you that," came Sonic's voice through the comm channel. "I'm gonna make you guys all honorary members of the Freedom Fighters!"

"Freedom...?" Elias said.

"Fighters...?" finished Knuckles.

"It's a group organized around giving common sense the boot and going beyond the impossible! A place for people with manly souls!"

"I... don't really follow you, but we'd be honored," said Elias.

Meanwhile, Rotor was trying to get Emerl started.

"That's odd," he said, twisting the Core Drill this way and that in its slot. "Even with the Core Drill inserted, it's not starting up. And there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it mechanically."

"It's hopeless..." Tails mumbled.

Then a green-and-orange flash got right in his face, and Marine's pointing forefinger nearly touched his nose.

"Oi, you!" she shouted at him. "Act more like a proper bloke!"

"Marine, please get down!" called out Blaze, pulling the spunky raccoon girl off of Emerl.

"Aww, what now, Blaze?" whined Marine.

"Please don't mind her, Tails," Blaze smiled sheepishly.

"Considering what happened yesterday," said Meg, her arms folded, "It can't be helped."

"Meg," Tails asked, "Aren't you and the rest of the Wandering Orphans... scared?"

Meg lowered her head, her brown bangs shadowing her eyes. After a moment of silence...

"My village, in Feral Forest, was destroyed by that white Gizoid, ARK. It was flourishing on the surface, and so Shadow was dispatched to kill us all. The same thing happened to Knuckles's Gawain Village, Blaze's Percival Village, and Marine's Windmill Village."

And when Meg looked back up at Tails, he could see the glint of unshed tears in her eyes.

"We all have one thing in common: we all lost all our loved ones to this Gizoid, and we couldn't lift a finger to help them."

"But if your enemy is like that, then..." Tails began, unsure what to say.

Meg gave Tails a sad smile. "Look. If we said we weren't scared, we'd be lying... But if you keep running away, you'll eventually be killed."

"And we can't afford to run away now, because there's nowhere to run _to_!" Sally strode to a spot some five paces in front of Emerl, cocking her rifle Nicole. "And that's why, even if everyone else should fall, I won't take one step from this spot!"

Rotor sighed to himself.

"Guess it's do-or-die time," he said.

_If running away gets you killed_, Tails thought. _And standing your ground and fighting means you'll also get killed... then... it really _is _hopeless..._

Time passed. The sun gradually turned the sky a blue brighter than Sonic.

A whooshing sound filled the air.

A white flash crashed into the rocky field just outside of Acorn Village. A tornado appeared there.

When it dissipated, ARK was crouched there. It stood erect, facing Freedom.

"If nothing else," Shadow's voice echoed in the air, "I commend you for facing me rather than running, Möbian."

Sonic retorted, "And _I _commend _you_ for facing us in the open like a real man, you... vague, sorta-Möbian-sorta-not-a-Möbian bastard!"

"You're just as loud as ever, I see..." said Shadow.

Then black smoke exploded off of ARK.

"Ha!" shouted Knuckles. "How do ya like the taste of the Wandering Orphans' Burning Water Bombs, huh?"

Shadow's voice returned, "It feels a little warm..."

"What? It had no effect?" was all Knuckles got out before ARK drew a large automatic pistol and fired where Knuckles was standing. He ran to dodge the bullets as big as his fists, when Freedom knocked the pistol from ARK's hand.

"You're not hurting any Freedom Fighters today!" said Sonic.

ARK drew back its other fist and knocked Freedom back.

"Provoking me like this..." came Shadow's voice. "...is like calling out to _death_!"

"FIRE!" shouted Elias. Every armed Acorn villager opened fire on Shadow's Gizoid. The bullets did not even leave dents in the armor or scratches in the paint.

"Something itches now," said Shadow's voice, and ARK fired off several spade-shaped blades from slots in its side. Many Acorn villagers were knocked aside by the projectiles. Miraculously, none were killed.

Again, Freedom was there to push ARK away.

"You guys are Freedom Fighters!" Sonic called out to Elias and company from Freedom. "No way will I let this bastard touch you!"

Freedom pitched forward; ARK had kicked out its legs.

"You never learn any new tricks..." said Shadow. "DO YOU?"

Before Freedom even touched the ground, ARK roundhouse-kicked it away, its crown-like crest glinting in the sun.

"Sonic!" she called out; this was almost as bad as yesterday.

"Okay, I thought that guy was kinda cool before," said Knuckles, wincing, "But he's just an amateur after all."

Sally ignored this, readying Nicole for a shot to ARK's torso.

She pulled the trigger.

As soon as she did, ARK raised its left arm and Shadow's voice called out, "Protect Shade," and the armor plating on its left forearm spread out in a circle that completely protected its torso from Sally's shot.

"No way!" she said.

Freedom came barreling in to sneak-attack ARK while its Protect Shade was up, but apparently Shadow was too well trained; he brought Freedom down to its knees with a right elbow brought down on its head.

"On your feet!" called out Shadow, kicking Freedom to its feet. It stood. Shakily.

"Are you ready to die?" Shadow's voice hissed, before missile silos emerged from ARK's shoulders, firing its payloads into Freedom. Sonic's cries of pain from within Freedom rang out to everyone with open comm channels.

The armored plating on Freedom's right arm was blasted off, the emblem of the Freedom Fighters facing the Acorn villagers.

"I knew it..." murmured Tails, and Sally wheeled about to face him.

"It really is hopeless," Tails continued, clenching his eyes shut. "Let's just go home, Sonic! It's too dangerous up here."

The sound of hands slamming into metal.

Tails looked up.

Sally was glaring sharply at him, her hands gripping tightly into Emerl's rim. It was all Tails could do to keep his eyes from drifting to her cleavage. Meg, Blaze, and Marine were watching this scene with intrigue.

"Just watch!" Sally said. "He keeps getting up, again and again. And until you show up to help him out, he'll keep getting up, as many times as he needs."

She fixed him with a serious, hard gaze.

"Do you remember what Sonic said just before you activated Emerl the first time? 'Don't believe in yourself. Believe in _me_! Believe in the Sonic who believes in you!' That's what he said." Her glare intensified. "What about _you_?"

"I..." Tails said uncertainly.

Then Emerl's display lit up green.

"I..." Tails grit his teeth.

Then Emerl's eyes glowed green.

"I...!" Tails yelled.

Then Emerl was engulfed in a flash of green.

Sally covered her eyes. When she looked back, Emerl was gone, a tunnel with spirals running down it carved into the earth beneath where the miniature Gizoid once was.

_フリーダム_

Blood was dripping into Sonic's eyes from that time he bumped his head when Shadow kicked him around.

"Oh, you're getting up again, aren't you?" he said to Sonic, derisive amusement in his tone.

"No way... am I gonna let you win here!" Sonic replied through gritted teeth.

Then Freedom launched itself forward.

"If nothing else..." Shadow guided ARK to dodge the blue hedgehog's Gizoid's fist...

"I commend you..." ARK grabbed the Gizoid's arm...

"For not knowing..." ARK lifted it off of the earth...

"WHEN TO GIVE UP!" And with a spin, Shadow tossed the blue hedgehog and his Gizoid into a mound.

_エメル_

"He's a sitting duck!" cried out Chris, a human man with spiky brown hair.

"Come on, Sonic!" Elias clenched his fists. "Get _up_!"

ARK's crowned head pointed at the fallen Freedom. And glowed red.

"He's gonna fire that beam!" shouted Knuckles.

"It's over," came Shadow's voice from within ARK.

_I guess it is..._ thought Elias, his knees ready to give way.

Then a green tornado tore itself from the ground just under the ARK, a drill as large as a human man at the tip that blasted up and tore into the front spike of the crown, breaking the Chaos Blast and sending the burst of crimson energy up into the sky, parting a cloud which was floating overhead.

Emerl landed in front of Freedom.

"What took you so long, Tails?" came Sonic's snarky query.

"I'm so scared," Tails said, sounding it. "I'm so scared that I can barely move. But..."

Inside Emerl, Tails's face was set with determination.

"The thought of sitting on the sidelines and watching you die is even worse!"

Freedom picked up Emerl.

"Well put, little brother!" Sonic's face on Tails's display showed a determined grin. "Guess it's time to finish this. Let's do the 'you-know-what'!"

"What? The 'Cannonball Attack' thing again?"

Sonic's grin got wider.

"No way!" Sonic said. "It should be obvious what we're supposed to do now...

"WE'RE GONNA COMBINE!"

"We're gonna combine?" Tails asked, confused.

"They're gonna combine?" said Shadow in his ARK, slightly fearful.

"They're gonna combine?" shouted Sally, Elias, Knuckles, and the other Acorn villagers, anticipatory.

"They're gonna 'combine'..." said a blushing Meg, her hands on her cheeks, also... anticipatory.

"They're gonna 'combine'...?" said Blaze, blushing at the thought.

"Yay! They're gonna combine, and I dunno what it means!" said Marine, excited.

"These things are giant robots, right?" said Sonic. "And giant robots have to be able to combine and become even more powerful! That's what so cool about them!"

"It's impossible," said Rotor, shaking his head. "Forget about it."

"We'll never know until we try, right?" Sonic replied to the 'ROTOR - SOUND ONLY' image on one of Freedom's computer displays.

Sonic brought Emerl over Freedom's empty shoulders.

"TWO... BECOME... _ONE~!_"

Freedom drove Emerl's drill into the space between its shoulders.

And suddenly...

...

...

...

Nothing happened.

"Alright, how about _now_, Black Arms bastard?" called out Sonic from Freedom. "Now _we_ got two faces just like you!"

All around Acorn Village, people's jaws dropped at the ridiculous display of the miniature Gizoid jammed into the silver, shades-wearing Gizoid's head.

"Ehh, it's a little wonky," said Sonic, adjusting Emerl on Freedom's shoulders. The stupid thing's drill had pretty much broken into Freedom's cockpit and nearly stabbed him in the head.

Inside ARK's cockpit, Shadow had put his face in his hand.

"You are a real idiot, you know that?" He prepped the Chaos Blast attack. "It's the skill of the pilot that makes the difference, not the number of faces!" He fired it. "Now DIE!"

And Emerl's eyes glowed like twin green suns.

A spiraling green field appeared from Emerl's third-eye crest and absorbed the Chaos Blast.

"Impossible!" shouted Shadow.

A hurricane billowed out from Freedom and Emerl. It was all that Sally could do to not get blown into the rocks.

"Sonic! Tails!" she called out.

Within Emerl's cockpit, the canopy displayed images of a drill piercing through a headless mecha, and spiraling tendrils of green light ran through the mecha's body.

"A-amazing!" Tails breathed.

In Freedom's cockpit, every display showed solid green.

"W-what the heck?" said Sonic softly.

A green light passed over Freedom's body, and its silver carapace shifted to the same yellow hue as Emerl's body, its limbs suddenly extending from the clunky stumps that had been salvaged from the wreckage of the two attacking Gizoids of two days before, to much more lanky, humanoid length.

"Wow, Sonic, you were right. We really combined!" Tails said in awe.

"Looks like it!" said Sonic.

The green tornado which had engulfed Freedom and Emerl dissipated...

And a tall, yellow Gizoid stood in its place.

"Th-they combined?" said Shadow from within ARK. "How could lowly Möbians do this?"

ARK and Freedom's chests collided; now, they stood level. Emerl was level with ARK's crown-shaped crest.

"How do you like _that_, Black Arms?" boasted Sonic. "Now we got a lid like you and everything!"

"GO TO HELL!" shouted Shadow, punching with ARK's left fist.

"No way, pal!" returned Sonic, punching with Freedom's right fist.

The fists collided...

Slid past each other...

And punched each other in the face.

"A c-cross counter!" shouted Elias from the sidelines. Someone behind him cheered.

"Remember this, Black Arms!" said Sonic, Freedom's fist now moving to grab ARK's crest-crown. "Combining is all about two souls colliding with each other!"

And ARK's helmet was broken, the front crest of the crown shattering. Shadow's Gizoid fell back.

"A combining of spirits that sets a man's soul on fire!"

Freedom held ARK's detached crown in its hand, lowering it over Emerl.

"FREEDOM EMERL!" shouted Sonic.

Emerl's crest blasted away the front of the crown, green light passing over the crown and turning it yellow.

"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM?" Sonic shouted as the newly named Gizoid stood to its fullest height, the high-noon sun glinting off of its chest shades.

"From now on, this mecha's name is... _FREEDOM EMERL_!"

**フリーダムエメル  
Freedom Emerl**

"Freedom...?" Sally said.

"Emerl?" Elias finished.

"How creative, amateur," remarked Knuckles sarcastically.

"That was..." said Meg.

"Sort of..." said Blaze.

"Definitely bonzer!" shouted Marine.

ARK stood again, drawing the twin swords on its hips: each a black blade with a golden parrying edge and golden filigree in the blade.

"To think I'm now forced to resort to my swords..." came Shadow's low voice. "I underestimated you... MÖBIAN!"

ARK charged, its twin blades drawn back.

"I told you, this Gizoid's name is _Freedom Emerl_!" shouted Sonic as Freedom Emerl charged forward.

"Sonic! Drills are coming from your wrists!" shouted Tails.

Indeed, drills were coming from either side of Freedom Emerl's right hand.

The instant Shadow's blades touched the drills, they shattered.

ARK held the twin hilts in its hands, and its pilot Shadow suddenly realized that he had an urgent summons by one of the Four Generals somewhere else - _anywhere_ else - just as Freedom Emerl's other fist came around and socked ARK in the gut.

"How? _How can this be?_" shouted Shadow. "How did he suddenly get so powerful? All he did was attach that miniature Gizoid? HOW IS IT POSSIBLE?"

"Do you think you'll ever understand what it takes to be a true hero?" came Sonic's reply.

"Damn you!" yelled Shadow.

ARK leapt back from Freedom Emerl's assault and - eyes widened in shock throughout Acorn Village - its entire face split open, revealing several missile silos and laser blasters.

"Wh-what the bloody hell is that?" shouted Marine.

"That's just plain cowardly!" added Knuckles.

The weapons cut loose.

Freedom Emerl pointed at ARK, and Freedom spoke in Sonic's voice, "You really think that that's gonna hurt Freedom Eme-..."

Freedom Emerl disappeared in a cloud of black smoke from ARK's desperation attack.

"SONIC!" yelled Sally, who then had to brace herself against the blast's shockwave. Behind her, pretty much everyone had to follow suite. For several seconds, all anyone could see was billowing black smoke, and all that could be heard was rushing wind.

The wind ceased, but the smoke was still very dense.

"No way..." said Meg, covering her mouth from the smoke.

"Were they taken out?" asked Blaze, a hint of fear in her tone.

When the smoke cleared, ARK was gone. Shadow had evidently chosen to retreat rather than risk the battle continuing any longer.

And Freedom Emerl was undamaged from the distracting barrage.

"Wow... that was actually kinda cool," said Knuckles, his hand shading his eyes from the sunlight.

"And Freedom Emerl wasn't damaged at all," said Sally in awe.

"Maybe it was some sort of energy shield," said Rotor, his arms folded. He was smiling slightly. "Maybe there really is something special to those two."

Meanwhile, Meg, Blaze, and Marine were swooning over how tough Sonic was.

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

"Where are you, you Black Arms slime-ball?" shouted Sonic, looking back and forth with Freedom, blinking blood out of his eyes.

Tails appeared on one of Freedom's screens.

"Wait, Sonic! It's over now. And you and Freedom are both hurt pretty badly. Let's go back to Acorn Village."

"Tails..." said Sonic.

"It's not because I'm scared," said Tails, before shaking his head a little. "Well, I am, but that's not why I want to go back." He gave a determined look to Sonic. "It's so we can fight another day."

After a moment, Sonic sat back. "Y'know, Tails, it's that attitude of yours that keeps me breathing."

Tails looked confused.

"Never mind," he said. "Let's get some rest."

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

"Hey! Hairmateur!" shouted Knuckles to Sonic.

"Huh? '_Hair_mateur'? What's _that_ mean?" Sonic asked.

"It means you're someone who's a hair's width better than a _regular _amateur," snarked Knuckles.

"Hey! If you think you could handle yourself better than I did, then just steal yourself a Gizoid!"

Knuckles ignored this, hopping back on to his warble-runner.

"You sure you can't hang around a little longer?" asked Elias. "With the ARK repelled, the Black Arms could attack us in full force."

"Come on! You got Freedom Emerl on your side," said Knuckles, guiding the warble-runner to the mouth of the valley, towards the setting sun. "A Gizoid fighting _against _the Black Arms should inspire other people to fight on the surface. Besides, we're the _Wandering_ Orphans, and there are plenty of villages on the surface that the Gizoids are targeting. Me and the girls gotta nail 'em and nail 'em hard!"

And then, almost as an afterthought, he turned to Sonic.

"Oh, and 'Two Become One!'? Couldn't you come up with a better combining call? You wanna make it sound like it's some sort of ninja-type robot? How about something like 'Final Fusion, approved!'?"

"Pft! Whatever, 'Chief Knuckles'." Then Sonic gave the thumbs-up. "Just so you know, you're still an honorary Freedom Fighter. Check back in sometime."

"And you're an honorary Wandering Orphan," replied Knuckles, turning to ride away from Acorn. "But you're the good-for-nuthin' youngest of our little family." He waved a large mitt in the air. "See ya! Don't go dyin'!"

"You neither!" called back Sonic.

Meg, Blaze, and Marine, also on their warble-runners, followed Knuckles, before bidding their last farewells to Acorn Village.

"T-take care, Meg," stuttered Elias, scratching the back of his head.

"You too, Elias!" she said brightly.

Elias's smile could have split his head in two.

"Bye-bye, darling!" she then said to Sonic in a vaguely romantic tone. (Elias sighed heavily at this statement.)

"I will be cheering for you from wherever I am, Sonic The Hedgehog," said Blaze, her hands folded as if in prayer.

"See ya, mates! Let's meet somewhere back of Bourke!" Marine gave a sly wink and a wave.

"'Back of Bourke'? Where the hell's Bourke?" asked Sonic.

"I guess it's Windmill Village slang," mumbled Elias. "Somewhere far away, I guess it means."

_熱砂の荒野を抜けて大グレン団が行くのだ_

From Freedom Emerl's hangar, Tails watched the Wandering Orphans riding off into the sunset. Rotor was off doing repairs on Freedom Emerl, and Tails just wanted to rest a little bit.

"Looks like you _do_ make a good team."

Tails turned. Sally was smiling at him.

"You and Sonic," she continued.

"Mm-hmm!" said Tails brightly. Now that Sonic had figured out how to make their Gizoids more powerful, no enemies could take Sonic down.

Then Sally scratched the back her head.

"Sorry. I was saying some terrible things about you," she said sheepishly. "But I know better now."

Tails was a little confused; he didn't know that Sally was saying anything unkind about him. But before he could ask about this...

"Hey, Sal! Elias!" shouted Rotor from Freedom's cockpit. "I found something interesting in Freedom's computer data!"

"'Interesting' how?" said Sally, walking up to the tall yellow Gizoid.

Rotor leaned out, holding a map of the surrounding area. He'd marked off an area on it.

"I found a recall point in Freedom's computer server," he smirked.

"A... 'recall point'?" asked Tails.

Rotor elaborated, "Freedom was an enemy Gizoid. The recall point is where Freedom goes for pick-up and repair."

Tails gasped.

"So that means the recall point..." he breathed.

He looked to Sally, who wore a serious expression again.

"...must be their headquarters," she said darkly.

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

Sonic stood over his father's grave at sunrise. His father's cape lay rested over the mound of dirt that covered his father's bones.

"Sorry, Dad," Sonic said in a serious tone. "But I'm gonna move on now... And see what's over every horizon in your place."

And with a flourish, Sonic pulled the cape from the ground and tied it around his neck in a dramatic wind.

A piece of the frayed red fabric tore off, and Tails caught it before it blew away, tying it around his left arm.

"You're really serious about going?" asked Sally.

"We know where their headquarters is, so it'll be an easy job to rock and roll our way there and _smash_ it," Sonic said, punching a fist into his open hand.

Tails smiled at Sally.

"I'll be okay, too," he said as Kukku expressed his joy at Tails's bright attitude with a heart. "Even if it gets scary, I'll tough it out."

"Here are some supplies for your trip," said Elias, holding a satchel full of fruits picked from nearby plants and meat taken from nearby animals. "Rote also built a small house out of whatever leftover Gizoid scraps he could find, even the three that attacked before ARK." Elias pointed at the small metal hut beside Freedom Emerl, its window (created from a Gizoid computer screen) glinting in the sun's light. He sighed. "I keep telling him that all-nighters can't be good for him."

"Thanks for all the help, pal," said Sonic, hoisting the satchel over his shoulder and giving Elias a thumbs-up.

Elias held out a hand, "A lot of us wanna go with you, but..."

Sonic shook it, "I understand. Protecting your women and children is an important job."

"Yeah," said Elias, "But looking at you two, I feel like we can do anything."

"Maybe even get your own Gizoid?" Tails offered.

Elias scratched the back of his head. "Well, I don't know about _that_, but..."

Rotor ran up, carrying a pair of tool bags.

"Whoa, what's with the bags?" asked Sonic, pointing at said bags.

"I assume you need a top mechanic to make sure your Gizoids don't conk out on you?" he said cheerily.

"I... guess we do," Sonic conceded.

"Elias, are you sure?" Sally asked.

"Rote practically begged me to let him go," her brother replied. "I had no choice."

"But..."

"Oh, come on," said Rotor, facing Sally as Sonic and Tails boarded their respective components of Freedom Emerl. "You seriously think I'm gonna let a mecha this fascinating escape my line of sight? Besides, if these kids can do something about the Black Arms, I don't wanna miss out on it."

Rotor hopped into the small house he'd constructed that night.

Freedom saluted them. "Later, Acorn Village!"

And a rope tied around Freedom Emerl's waist went taut as it reached a certain distance from the small home, dragging it along the dirt.

Sally watched as Freedom Emerl departed. There was some strange pain in her heart as the thought crossed her that Sonic might never return to Acorn. She knew what it was, but didn't want to think she felt _that_ for that blockhead.

But when Freedom Emerl was still less than one hundred feet away...

"You can go, too," said Elias, handing Sally her rifle Nicole.

Sally gave Elias a look of wonder. Her heart was singing for some reason.

"We'll look after Acorn Village," Elias said. "You have your own path to walk down."

Then he smiled teasingly.

"Still, I had no idea that he was your type, sis!"

The villagers who were seeing Sonic and Tails off laughed at this.

Sally didn't know why this made her blush so furiously; it shouldn't have, but it did. Sonic was a brainless dolt, so why would she feel like _that_ around him.

"It's not like that at all!" she said sharply, before grabbing Nicole and running after Freedom Emerl. She called over her shoulder to Elias, "Thank you, Elias!"

"We'll meet again, Sal!" he called back.

Sally, her heart fluttering, reached Rotor's house, which bounced and rocked with each step Freedom Emerl took. She threw open the door, and Rotor, who was lying on the floor - exhausted, she knew, from his latest string of all-nighters - smirked at the sight of Sally and pulled out a communicator.

"Hey, Sonic? Sal just came aboard."

"Cool," came Sonic's voice, tinny from the old communicator. "Just so you know, we'll ditch you and that heavy ass of yours if it slows us down, pit chick."

"Oh, pipe down," said Sally, cheery in spite of herself; _what was wrong with her?_ "You want me to put bullets up your butt, Mr. Leader?"

"Hang on. Are the Freedom Fighters their own worst enemy?" chuckled Rotor.

"The enemy are the Black Arms!" piped in Tails's voice from Rotor's communicator.

"Yeah!" added Sonic. "So hang tight, Black Arms! 'Cause this time, _we're_ gonna attack _you_!"

_Why am I so happy to be with Sonic?_ Sally thought. _Do I really feel that way for him? Would it be right to get involved with someone else who's fighting in a war where neither of us could survive...?_

_王都_

In a far-off location unseen by Möbian eyes, a pair of footsteps echoed down the dark hallway, stopping before a large pair of doors decorated with an impossibly large tree, its roots invading a planet.

A shadowy figure with red clawed hands barred her progress with a glaive.

"Do you have any business here at this late hour... Princess?" hissed the guard.

"Yes," she replied, blue eyes glinting behind green hair. "I have a question to ask... of my father."

**つづく  
To be continued...**

* * *

次回予告  
Next Episode Preview

There are things you know in your head, and things you know in your gut. Even if you react instinctively, it's not the same thing as using your head. That's one thing I just don't get!

Next time on _Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl_: _**"I Don't Get It, Not One Bit!"**_


	8. Chapter 7

_(Chapter Seven. As people could tell from the previous chapter, I kinda merged Episodes 3 and 4 together. To be honest, Episode 4 is not one of my favourite episodes, so I used the manga as a basis for incorporating the characters introduced in Episode 4 into the storyline of Episode 3._

_Also, Episode 5 is not a particular favourite of mine either, so you'll find that I didn't exactly blaze straight through this one.)_

"This is the tale of a man who has yet to realize what his destiny is.

"Sonic The Hedgehog has just acquired the Gizoid, Freedom, for his own.

"However, a powerful Gizoid appears, piloted by the Black Arms called Shadow.

"In the midst of the battle, Sonic and Tails's two Gizoids, Freedom and Emerl, combine for the first time.

"Freedom Emerl's drill sends Shadow's Gizoid, ARK, fleeing.

"What powerful secrets lay hidden within Freedom Emerl?"

**CHAPTER SEVEN:  
I Don't Get It, Not One Bit!**

"It's been a while since we've fought any Gizoids," said Sally.

"Yeah. I mean, we don't want my piloting skills to get rusty," said Sonic. "I mean, what happens if we find the recall point and we're swamped by Black Arms and Gizoids?"

"We've been looking for this recall point for two weeks now. We've been fighting Gizoids on and off for being the only Möbians to steal a Gizoid. Chances are we're gonna fight _something _soon."

"Maybe..." Then Sonic scowled. "So why are you riding in Freedom's cockpit with me? Didn't Rotor make a house out of scraps?"

Sally was sitting on the back of the controller's seat in Freedom. Her butt was less than a foot from Sonic's head.

"He did, but this is the best place to be when we're moving. That thing is murder on my butt." Behind Freedom, the sound of the house rocking this way and that could be heard.

"Are you sure it's not because your butt's so big?"

Then Sonic felt something pressing on to the top of his head.

Sally was sitting on him.

"Wow, this is _really_ comfy," said Sally loudly and obviously.

"Grr... Are you sure your brains didn't sink down into your ass and that's why it's so heavy?"

A devious grin crossed Sally's face, hitching open the bullet chamber of Nicole.

"Sounds to me like you want to try out my meatball bullets," said Sally, pinching one of said bullets between her fingers before dropping it into the bullet chamber.

Sonic's eyes widened. "No! Not that!" he cried out.

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

Rotor jumped out of Emerl and pulled out his handheld. A small laser emerged from its underside, scanning the soil beneath them in a grid. Adjusting his hat so that the sun didn't get in his eyes, he raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm. This is interesting," he said.

"What's interesting?" asked Tails, hopping out after him.

"This soil was formed here comparatively recently," replied Rotor.

"How soon is 'recently'?"

Rotor typed away for a second on his handheld, reading the data which appeared.

"About... four- to five-hundred years ago, according to the readout," said Rotor.

And then the earth quaked. Again. And again. And again and again and again and again and...

Freedom was bolting along, the house bouncing along violently behind it. A blue flash occasionally emitted from between the silver Gizoid's clenched teeth.

"CUT THAT OUT, YOU CRAZY WOMAN!" came Sonic's echoing yell.

"Oh, come on! It's not like this'll hurt much!" was Sally's reply.

Tails and Rotor watched silently...

Then Tails palmed his face.

"Did Sonic make another crack about Sally's butt?" asked Rotor.

"Looks like it," said Tails as Freedom leapt into the air and came crashing down in front of them.

And fell straight through the dirt.

Numb shock shot through Tails and Rotor.

"Sonic and Sally fell in a hole," Tails said stupidly.

Then he heard rumbling.

All around Tails and Rotor, the earth was crumbling. In a haste, they leapt back into Emerl and closed the canopy...

Just as the earth in a 100-meter square around the hole Freedom fell through collapsed inwards.

"Where did this cavern come from?" asked Rotor, looking about in alarm as stones rained about them.

"What's going on?" yelled Tails, staring up at the disappearing point of light where the surface was.

Then a large rock fell in and struck Emerl, and Tails and Rotor were knocked out.

_暗闇の中で何を考えてやがるッ__!_

A small group of a couple dozen people approached the large faces which had fallen down from the ray of light cast down from the endless void above the hub of Galahad Village. The one which was floating in the pool was only somewhat larger than a person, while the other was at least the size of the Face God which oversaw peace in the village.

And it was upside-down.

What they could not know was that inside the larger of the two new visitors, a certain blue hedgehog's pointed red shades had become entangled in the bra worn by a squirrel-chipmunk girl. Nor that it was of greatest fortune that she was the first one to wake up, quickly realizing her situation, and firing her handmade meatball bullets at him to blast him out of the large face.

All they saw were three blue flashes through the giant face's teeth, then the face's mouth flew open and a blue hedgehog wearing a tattered red cape and pointed red shades flew out into the water, along with a flame-decal bra.

Sally leaned out, clutching her vest tight to cover up her indecency. "It's a good thing I woke up first," she mumbled, before noticing the crowd watching her. She leaned back, her face burning in embarrassment.

"People from the Celestial Lands..." murmured one man reverently.

"Those who travel in the company of a Face God..." said a woman who had fallen to her knees.

Sonic had stirred by this point, and was baffled by the statements.

"What...? 'Face God'...?" he muttered, looking about. Looking around Freedom, he saw what those people had to be referring to...

A broken-down Gizoid, it's limbs splayed about in the water. As he stepped towards it, the stirring water revealed that this Gizoid had to have been here for a very long time, as the color of the Gizoid's paint was very different below the water level.

"What's a Gizoid doing here...?" he said to himself, reaching out to...

"Don't touch it!" cried out a voice.

Sonic's hand stopping short, he turned to face the figure who had called to him.

There was a pale-white hedgehog with bright yellow eyes, his quills styled into five points over the top of his head.

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

Tails sneezed. This village had some sort of dust in the air because of the landfall they had made, and the tunnels were dark and drafty. There were no artificial lights like in Kntohole Village, and the only thing that the people of Galahad could gather to warm him up were very small bundles of thin twigs.

"Yo, Pothead," Sonic said, addressing the white hedgehog. "Don't you got bigger bits of wood to throw on the fire?"

Tails gaped. Beside him, so did Sally. _Pothead?_

"My name is Silver, if you please," he replied testily. "And I'm sorry, but that's all the wood we have. Literally."

Sonic folded his arms surlily. "_This _place is a real barrel of laughs, ain't it?"

"Don't be rude! It's bad enough you called him 'Pothead'!" snapped Sally.

"Whoa, cool!" said a shrill boy's excited voice over Tails's shoulder. Turning, he saw a small bee boy wearing a helmet with goggles on his head. He seemed beside himself with excitement. "Are you guys really from the Celestial Lands?"

"Are you messengers of the Face Gods, Mr. Fox?" asked a girl's voice on Tails's other side. It was a young cream-colored rabbit girl, wearing a red dress and carrying a Chao doll which had a small red bowtie.

"Hmm?" Sonic looked at the two kids. "Where did they come from?"

"Charmy, Cream. Please don't bother our guests," said Silver. "Go off somewhere else."

"You got it, Silver!" said Charmy, buzzing off.

"Okay, Mr. Silver!" bowed Cream, before following Charmy.

"I apologize," said Silver to Sonic and company. "They both lost their parents, so they expect everyone else to take care of the-..."

"Who cares about that?" said Sonic, cutting across Silver's speech. "What's a Gizoid doing down here, anyway?"

"A... Gizoid?" asked Silver.

"That," said Sonic, pointing at the broken-down Gizoid in the middle of the pond at the center of Galahad Village.

"You mean the Face God?"

"What? You don't know what that is?" Sonic scoffed.

"Well, you weren't any different from him not too long ago, Sonic Hedgehog," snarked Sally.

"Hey! What did I do to deserve so much grief from you?" Sonic asked defensively.

Sally leaned in sharply. "You know what you did, so just shut up!"

Silver took note of how Sally's... assets bounced about when she leaned towards Sonic. He averted his gaze; she was barely wearing anything apart from her bra, vest, and short-shorts.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Sally, but could you... put this on?" He produced a white cloak.

"Why?" she asked.

"Maybe you should cover up," Silver still did not look at her. "Your manner of dress is... indecent."

Sally's expression showed irritance.

A question mark appeared over Kukku's head.

A minute later...

Sally was woefully stretching out her limbs in her newly-acquired white cloak.

"I don't really like wearing clothes that restrict my movements like this," she said.

Sonic was busy studying her figure.

Sally scowled at him. "What now?"

"Jeez... Take away the bare midriff and you got _nothin'_, you know that?" he said, lifting up the front of her cloak and exposing said midriff.

Tails's eyes widened. As did Silver's and Rotor's.

Sally's face went red...

And her foot came down on Sonic's head.

"You louse! You're one hopeless pervert of a man, you know that?" she shouted shrilly, kicking Sonic in the head.

Then she smiled at Tails. "Make sure you don't pick up on his habits, okay Tails?"

"Please stop this violent behavior!" said Silver sharply. "I would expect Celestians to be above such lewd conduct."

A small crowd of about two dozen Galahad villagers had gathered by this point.

"Celestians? _These_ people are Celestians?" said a man in the front of the crowd.

"Yes," said Silver, gesturing formally towards Sonic and his posse. "They travel in the company of Face Gods. Please show them all due respect."

"Master Silver!" called out a panting man who bolted through the crowd, hands on his knees as he stood before Silver.

"What's wrong?" Silver asked.

"Th-there's a problem? Venice's wife just gave birth!" the man said, voice hoarse like he'd run a mile.

Silver smiled. "But that's good news. I was just about to suggest that our visitors meet the High Priest."

"But... the thing is, the first child is a girl, and the second is a boy. As is the third!"

Suddenly, a wave of panic swept through the Galahad villagers.

"What...?" said Silver, going pale.

"Hmm? Why're they freaking out?" Sonic asked himself.

_お前なんか信じられっか__!_

The candle was the only source of light in the small room. The elderly hedgehog nodded slowly.

"I see," said High Priest Aurum. "Venice and his wife had triplets."

"Yes, Father," said Silver.

"So that brings this village's population to 52," said Aurum, drawing a cup with fifty wooden straws in it. "We must choose two, then."

Silver felt quite uneasy for some reason every time this ritual went underway. He wondered if the High Priest did, too.

"Must we go through with this, Father?" he asked the older hedgehog.

The High Priest faced Silver. "Silver, do you not understand? This rite bestows a great blessing." He glanced at a small book, emblazoned with a purple spiral, that was the source of their faith. "Our covenant with the Face Gods entails paradise for any who pass into the Celestial Lands. We will celebrate the chosen. Just as we did..." He drew two wooden straws, tipped with red, from a pocket in his cassock. "...with your mother."

_アダイ村のデコ助_

"This place is a gloomy old dump. Even old Knothole Village wasn't this bad," complained Sonic. He looked down at the food bowl that was set in front of him; there was something in it that may or may not have been meat at some point. "So, when is the meal showing up?"

"I think this _is _the meal," said Tails, holding up a small skeleton of some small creature that none of them could identify.

"That ain't enough, though!" Sonic said loudly.

"Chao!" complained Kukku, his ball turning into a spiral.

Rotor stirred his bowl of sludge drearily. "Given the state of this village, I suspect this is a grand welcome for us. They don't have electricity. Or herds of livestock. All they got is this stagnant pond and a broken-down old Gizoid."

"So, even a meal like this is precious," said Sally, feeling suddenly guilty about receiving what was likely Galahad Village's supply of food for the day. "I wonder how hard it is to get this sort of food..."

"I'm sorry," said Silver, approaching. "Was the meal not to your liking?"

Sally started, and her stomach dropped rapidly; it was probably in the vicinity of Möbius's core by the time Silver spoke again.

"If... it's not too much trouble, could you tell me about the Celestial Lands?" he said.

Sonic smirked. "Really, Pothead? You wanna know what it's like to not be a cellar dweller?" He stood to his full height. "Then let's get it out of the way, so there's no confusion. Gizoids are no gods!"

"But, that's been what Galahad Village has believed in since long before I was born," replied Silver.

"Your village has always lived like this?" asked Tails.

"No, but our situation is said to have improved greatly since the High Priest took direct control of the village's administration."

"Really?" said Sonic. "And who _is _this High Priest guy?"

"That would be me," said a low voice behind Sonic, and everyone turned in shock.

An aged hedgehog with drooping quills stood there, his fur a faded gold.

"I apologize for not introducing myself earlier," he said. "I am the High Priest of Galahad Village, Aurum. I govern this village."

"Really?" said Sonic, striding up to him. "So you're the head honcho here, right? Since when did you think it was a great idea to tell these people that Gizoids are gods?"

"Do not test the piety of this village," said Aurum coolly. "Your words are too much for them." He beckoned them. "Now, I would have a word with you before we turn in for the night." He faced Silver. "You too, Silver."

"Y-yes, Father," he said nervously.

_アダイ村のデコ助_

"So... it's true, what they said?" Silver said slowly. "The Face Gods... are machines?"

"Of course!" said Sonic. "They were built by these crazy critters on the surface called the Black Arms, to kill any Möbian that goes to the surface. Not exactly godlike, huh?"

"Then... that means...?" Silver rounded on Aurum, his eyes burning. "That means... my mother...!"

Aurum bowed his head, and it was a long time before he spoke again.

"Whatever regrets I once had, I made my peace with long ago," he said slowly.

"Don't give me that!" Silver said, tears spilling down his face. "You sent her away! Even though she... you..." He collapsed to his knees.

"Silver, you see what the truth is doing to you?" said Aurum, leaning down and patting Silver's back. "If the truth would do this to the village, do they really need to know?"

"I _know_ that!" shouted Silver. "But still... my mother..."

"This village does not have the resources to sustain a large population," continued Aurum, averting his gaze from Silver and looking at his book of faith. "The first thing I did when I became leader of this village was to impose a limit of 50 people living in the village at any one time. We must not exceed that number, not even by one. If we succumb to sentimentality, this village would be lost."

Silver, recomposing himself, stood up, wiping tears on his arm. "Then, your religion...?"

"Nothing more than a tool to achieve that end," said Aurum lowly. "It is regrettable, but it soothes the souls in a way one can scarcely imagine."

"Yeah, well, if it's regrettable, then why are you still doing it?" Sonic cut in, Tails, Sally and Rotor looking shocked at his intervention. "I don't get it, not one bit!"

"Sonic!" Tails said. "Don't yell at the High Priest. It's the law here in this village. It's not like they're doing this because they want to."

"If you don't _want _to do it, all you gotta do is _stop_ doing it!" He pointed at himself with his thumb. "Who the hell do you think I am? I'm Sonic The Hedgehog, and I would rather die than do something I don't wanna do!"

"How could you know what it's like to live in this village?" said Aurum. "You do not know how much sorrow I would feel at this village's end."

"Well, I don't wanna know such one-sided sadness," Sonic said. "That's why we're trying to take out the Black Arms on the surface, so that people don't have to worry about living up there."

Aurum closed his eyes slowly.

"I see," he said. "In that regards, you have my greatest wishes of luck. But in the meantime, the hour is late, and Galahad Village has an important ceremony tomorrow. Good night. And please do not speak of Gizoids or the surface around the other villagers."

Sonic was the last to leave, glowering to himself about this village.

_月と星とア・タ・シ_

The next morning...

"Father Aurum, surely it doesn't need to be held now," said the orange mink. "My kits will not survive long on their own."

"Do not misunderstand, Venice," said Aurum, smiling warmly. "To be chosen in this ritual is to earn the blessings of the great Face Gods. Now, please draw."

Venice's face was wrought with emotion. "I... will draw for my wife and children as well, then," he said, drawing five straws, closing his fist around the tips, nodding in solemnity before departing from the altar.

"Next please," said Aurum.

One by one, the citizens of Galahad Village strode up and drew a straw, keeping the end concealed in their fist. Men, women, old, young... Sonic crossed his arms in the corner, Tails looking at him in worry, Sally scowling at him, and Rotor observing the proceedings with mildly polite disapproval.

Finally, Silver and Aurum drew their straws, fists clenched around the end that was in the cup. Still, there were two straws that were left in the cup.

"Is there anyone who has not drawn a lot yet?" asked Silver.

"Charmy hasn't gone yet, Mr. Silver," said Cream, from the front.

"Cream hasn't, either!" said Charmy, pointing at her, even though he was right next to her.

Aurum chuckled. "Oh right. That makes you two the last ones," he said, placing his book down and handing the cup out to Charmy and Cream. Each drew a straw, careful to conceal the tip from themselves.

"Now, open your hands," he said to Galahad Village. "If your lot has a mark on it, you have been chosen by the gods to live with them."

Venice opened his hand. All five were plain. He let out a heavy sigh of relief, tears that were held back now falling free.

All around the crowd, sighs of mingled relief and resignation were heard.

Until...

"She won! Cream won!" shouted Charmy, pointing at the red tip of Cream's straw.

"So did you, Charmy!" she said smiling, looking at Charmy's.

Charmy smiled brightly. "Wow, you're right! We _both_ won! Yahoo!" He did a loop-de-loop.

Silver looked at Aurum in astonishment.

Aurum bowed his head.

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

"Take them with us?" said Sonic.

"The surface world is a dangerous place, from what you have said," said Aurum. "These children would be safer by far with your protection."

Sonic crossed his arms. "You fixed that drawing so that those two kids would be the ones to 'win', right?"

Aurum nodded solemnly. "Those children have no families. This way, there will be no one to miss them."

Sonic grit his teeth.

"Sonic?" asked Tails.

The blue hedgehog scratched the back of his head.

"I guess we don't got a real choice," he said.

"Right," said Sally. "I mean, we're not exactly heading towards paradise with Freedom Emerl, but they'll be safer than going off on their own."

Silver nodded approvingly. "That is exactly what we thought. Though I wasn't informed that Charmy and Cream were chosen by Aurum until after the ceremony."

"I guess we're gonna leave as soon as possible, then," said Rotor.

"I'm afraid that would be best," said Aurum.

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

There was a small crowd by the door leading to the tunnel to the 'Celestial Lands', seeing Charmy and Cream off.

"And take this, too," said a woman, putting more rations into Charmy's backpack.

"But we can't eat all this!" he said.

"Silly boy, it's not to eat all at once," she said. "Eat a little bit at a time and make it last."

"Okay!" said both Charmy and Cream.

Meanwhile...

"Are you sure about this, Silver?" Aurum asked.

"Yes. I will go with Charmy and Cream," Silver said. "Once we reclaim the surface as a home for Möbiankind, there will no longer be any need to be bound by such painful laws as population limitation." He smiled slightly. "Besides, wouldn't it be easier for you if there was only _one_ person in Galahad Village who knew the truth?"

Aurum gazed at Silver for a few moments, then closed his eyes. "I understand." He held out his holy book. "In which case, would you like to take the holy scriptures with you on your journey?"

Silver looked down on the book.

"Thank you, but... I no longer believe." He gave a sad smile to the High Priest. "And besides, I thought you knew. ...I can't read."

Aurum smiled back. "Oh, is that all? Well, you don't have to worry about that, son." He grinned. "_I_ can't read, either!"

Silver only stared in shock, but took the holy book just the same, opening it and looking at the strange symbols within.

"It may be nothing more than dead weight to you now," said Aurum, placing a hand on Silver's shoulder, "But I would like you to take it with you. Please, accept it."

Silver looked up from the book, and smiled.

"Yes, father."

_お前の__よ、そそり立て！_

Up on the surface, Freedom Emerl had had some trouble hoisting itself and the small metal hut up from Galahad Village, but eventually Sonic had somehow managed to get its legs to glow green, and the Gizoid bolted straight up the wall of the chasm, leaping and landing just by a small cave entrance just beyond the rim. The metal hut bounced along for a moment before coming to a rest.

"Maybe you could've come up with a less uncomfortable way to get out," said Sally, herself and Rotor crammed into Freedom's cockpit.

"You think this is easy for _me_, either?" said Sonic.

Tails's image appeared on one of Freedom's screens. "Sonic, look!"

Sonic did. Silver, Charmy, and Cream were emerging from the cave just by Freedom Emerl's foot.

"Shall we depart?" said Silver, looking up.

"Wow..." said Cream, looking about, clutching her Chao doll. "This is the Celestial Land?"

"Looks awesome and empty!" said Charmy, putting a fist in the air.

"Well, it ain't exactly paradise up here. Get used to a few godly brawls," said Sonic from Freedom. He picked up the metal hut and set it upright. "Now, get in, everyone. I just had an idea."

Sally and Rotor leapt from Freedom's mouth and into the metal hut. Silver, Charmy, and Cream followed them.

"What's this big idea of yours, Sonic?" asked Sally.

She could hear Sonic's smirk. "Here we go!"

She saw the four spines on Freedom's back turn into drills.

_Oh_, she thought.

Freedom jammed the metal hut onto its back. The five inside the small house rushed as far from the four drills as they could.

"Watch it, Sonic!" Sally shouted. "You nearly pierced us!"

"Sorry 'bout that, but you should know how I do stuff!" Sonic's voice replied.

Then Freedom Emerl began walking, and the house did not shake and rattle nearly as much when it was dragging along the earth.

"Well, I guess this is better," Sally said, calming down a little.

"You bet!" said Sonic. "Now, let's rock and roll on to the recall point!"

"'Recall point'?" asked Silver.

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

Meanwhile, down in Galahad Village...

Aurum was looking up into the "sunlight", as Sonic and his companions called it, where Silver and Charmy and Cream were now much closer to.

_It would indeed be nice to live under that without fear_, he thought.

Then he furrowed his eyes.

Something white and fuzzy was fluttering down from the sunlight. He held out his hand. There was some small brown bud on the end.

And dozens - hundreds? thousands! - were drifting down, settling in the moist soil at the edge of Galahad Village's pond.

In a few weeks' time, plants would grow there, bringing fruits and vegetables, solving the issue of food for Galahad Village. With all thanks to Freedom Emerl, the greatest Face God of all, Galahad Village flourished.

**つづく  
To be continued...**

**

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次回予告  
Next Episode Preview

If it's hidden, you want to see it! If you're told not to look, you can't resist peeking! That's what a man's adventure is all about!

Next time on _Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl_: **_"There Are Some Things I Just Have To See!"_**


	9. Chapter 8

_(Chapter Eight! This came out fast, didn't it?)_

"This is the tale of a man who has yet to realize what his destiny is.

"The man and his companions had fallen into a village that worships Gizoids as gods: Galahad.

"That place had a cruel rule in place to ensure the survival of its people.

"Still harboring resentment in their hearts, Sonic and Tails's journey continues, having acquired still more new companions."

**CHAPTER EIGHT:  
There Are Some Things I Just Have To See!**

It started late one evening, less than a week after Silver, Charmy and Cream had joined their posse. Rotor was doing some minor repair work to Freedom Emerl after the latest battle with Gizoids and Black Arms, Silver, Charmy and Cream were napping, and Sally was in the corner, reading a book she had brought along from Acorn.

"Well, that was one unpleasant experience..." said Sonic, reclining and pushing his nose with his forefinger.

"What was?" Tails asked.

"That Galahad Village, that's what," Sonic replied. "It was a gloomy village filled with gloomy people living in the gloomy cold, dark, and dreary. Whenever I think about that place, I just get ticked off."

"Yeah... They were really poor there, weren't they?" Tails said, scratching at some point on his forehead. "Now that I think about it, we had it a _lot_ better back in Knothole than they do. At least we had electricity, and pig-moles, and pig-mole steaks."

"Got that right, big guy," Sonic said. "There was something that they ate, some sorta soup or something that I don't know where it came from, but it may or may not have been some kind of fish. When kids eat stuff like that, I'm sure they grow up into gloomy kids like Pothead there." He pointed a thumb at Silver.

"I think I understand him, though," said Tails.

"Understand what? Why his quills look like a pot leaf?" Sonic snickered.

Tails shook his head.

"No. I don't know about that. But if I hadn't met you... Or if I was born in Galahad Village... I might've grown up to be like him."

"What? With a pot leaf hairdo?"

"Let's just drop the whole 'pot leaf' thing, okay? So, why did you keep getting under the High Priest's collar?"

"Well, something about him reminded me of Chief Eggman. Besides, that whole 'worship Gizoids as gods' thing ticked me off pretty bad. Plus, all those lines on his face made it hard to tell if _he_ was a Gizoid!"

Tails shook his head in bemusement. "I wish you'd talk sense sometimes. Besides, I bet it was hard for him; their village didn't have a lot of food or water. They had to survive somehow, and don't you think he had to do _some_thing?"

"Just because there's only enough food for 50 people doesn't make it right to exile any extra people to the surface! He even rigged that lottery so that Charmy and Cream, two little kids, were the ones who got picked. I can't forgive crap like that. I took those kids in 'cause I wanted to make sure they have someone to protect them from the Gizoids and Black Arms."

Then Sonic looked Tails in the eye.

"So Tails, you know why people have eyes in front?"

Tails stared at Sonic for a long moment, and shrugged.

Sonic put on his pointed shades.

"It's because you have to move forward to see your destination in the distance. If you had eyes in the _back_ of your head, all you'd see is your home getting further and further away. You can't move forward like that. If your eyes are in front, you see your destination getting closer and closer." He smirked. "That's what lets people move forward." He scratched his head a little. "At least, that's what Dad used to say..."

Tails looked out a window. At the stars and Moon.

"What you see in the distance..." he muttered.

"Yeah, that's it, big guy."

"I don't think that's it, though. Having eyes in front also lets you see the backs of people who are already ahead of you. That's why Silver came with us... I think." Tails smiled at Sonic. "So, let's show it to them, bro! Silver, Charmy, and Cream... Let's show them some new horizons!"

Sonic gave a thumbs-up. "You got it! Making new friends ain't bad at all."

He poked a head out of the metal hut, peering down the ladder at Rotor.

"Hey Rote, how are the repairs goin'?" he asked.

"Just finished, Sonic," replied the walrus. "Might wanna wake everyone up now, so that they don't get crabby when Freedom Emerl starts walking."

"You got it," said Sonic. He turned to Tails. "We're moving out. Let's wake up Pothead and the kids."

Tails nodded, walking over to Silver and shaking him.

"Silver, the repairs are done," he said. "We're gonna get moving soon."

Silver opened bleary eyes, and nodded sleepily.

"Yo Sal, we're gonna motor in a minute," Sonic said, walking up to Sally.

Sally put her hand to her nose, dropping her book. "Point your face somewhere else, please."

"What? What's that supposed to mean?" asked Sonic, leaning in closer.

"What's the matter?" asked Tails, walking over.

"Are you feeling sick?" Silver asked, approaching as he rubbed his eyes.

Sally clenched her eyes shut, and said, "It stinks!"

The room was suddenly quiet, save for Charmy's buzzing.

"...What stinks?" asked Tails.

"Where's it coming from?" Sonic asked.

Sally glared at the hedgehogs and fox. "Excuse me for being blunt, but... you guys reek to high heaven!"

"Huh?" said Sonic.

"Maybe you guys should consider brushing your teeth and washing up once in a while," Sally said hotly.

"And wouldn't you guys know it?" called up Rotor from down below.

Sally looked out the door, still pinching her nose, to face the walrus at the base of the ladder.

"What is it?" she asked.

Rotor pointed along the empty earthen plains at a point somewhere near the local mountain range. In the distance, a rising column of... something could be seen.

"Is it smoke?" Sally pondered. "But Gizoids don't normally attack at night."

"Not smoke," said Rotor, waving a finger. "Steam. It has to be a natural hot spring."

"A hot spring?" Sally's mood brightened instantly, taking the ladder rungs two at a time on her way down.

"A 'hot spring'? What's that?" Sonic asked, climbing down after her. Tails and the rest of the Freedom Fighters followed him.

"It's a place where people can bathe and socialize together," said Rotor matter-of-factly.

"Bathe...together...?" Sonic muttered.

_"Alright, Sonic... I've finished cleaning you up..." said Sally in a sultry tone. Now she drew back, crossing her arms in a way that pushed her breasts together. "Now... could you do me...?"_

"This is cool! Way past cool!" shouted Sonic. He bounced up Freedom's leg and into the cockpit. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

"This is great, isn't it, you two?" Sally asked Charmy and Cream. "And to think there's a rock wall dividing the hot spring pretty much in two... It's almost perfect for keeping snoopy-eyed hedgehogs from peeking at us!"

"You bet!" said Charmy, dive-bombing into the pool with a 'Yahoo!'.

Sally shielded herself from the splash. "Don't splash around too much, Charmy. There's only so much water here. We don't want you guys to smell too badly when we leave-..."

Sally heard footsteps.

"You better not be trying to sneak a peek, Sonic!" she called out.

Then she heard the last voices she expected to hear.

"Crikey! There really _is _a hot spring here!"

"This is great, isn't it?"

"It truly is, Meg."

Three female figures stepped through the mist, and Sally's jaw dropped.

"Meg? Blaze? Marine?"

The three girls of the Wandering Orphans stood still at the sight of Sally.

"Sally?"

_Peeping Tom_

Tails bobbed with his head just above the surface of the water.

"This hot spring was a great find... Right, Sonic?" he said lazily.

"Hey, Tails?"

"Wha~at?"

"Someday, you and me gotta go try and get to the Moon."

"The Moon?" asked Tails, snapping from his reverie. "You mean this?" He pointed at the Moon's reflection in the water.

"No, _that_!" Sonic pointed at the Moon in the sky.

The sheer magnitude of Sonic's ambition struck Tails dumb for a moment. Then Tails chuckled, scratching the back of his head.

"I don't think any amount of wishful thinking is gonna get us to the Moon, Sonic."

"Come on, Tails!" Sonic leapt out of the hot spring, standing on a large rock. "Kicking common sense out and going beyond the impossible is the way the Freedom Fighters roll. We made it to the surface, so who's to say that it's impossible to get to the Moon?"

Tails smiled to himself. "When you say it like that, Sonic, I feel like we really _can_ do it..."

Sonic and Tails stared up at the Moon for a while, thinking about the idea of what could be found up on the Moon, when...

"Stop trying to feel me up!"

"Oh, come off it, Sally! Your breasts are just _beggin'_ to be touched!"

"But Meg's more developed than me, Marine..."

"But Sally, yours are shaped better than mine..."

"I'm right bothered; mine are just like _this_..."

"What about me, Ms. Meg?"

"Don't worry, Cream. I'm sure you and Marine will develop nicely. That's part of growing up."

"What about me? I'm here, too!"

"Boys don't grow like that, Charmy."

Tails quirked an eyebrow.

"Are those the girls of the Wandering Orphans?" he asked, looking around. "But wouldn't Knuckles be with them...?"

Sonic whipped around to Tails.

"Forget about him. We gotta sneak a peek, big guy," he grinned, flashing a thumbs-up.

"But, Sonic!" Tails's heart leapt into his throat; what if Sally heard them? "Sally said she'd fire Nicole up our tails and out our mouths if we tried to... peep."

"Come on, Tails! What Sally doesn't know won't hurt her!" He pointed to the sky, and shouted so loudly he was afraid the girls (and Charmy) would hear. "Spin your tails, Tails! Fly us up over the wall separating us from the girls!"

An awkward silence passed.

"How can I spin my tails, Sonic?" Tails asked exasperatedly. "They won't spin around each other. It's not physically possible! I just can't do that!"

Sonic rubbed his chin for a moment, then snapped his fingers.

"Your drill, Tails! Your digging drill from Knothole. You still got it?"

"Oh! Uhh..." Digging through his clothes, Tails produced the drill which had found his Core Drill, and Emerl. "This isn't a nice thing to do, though, Sonic. Why can't you just ask Sally to...?"

"Tails," said Sonic, looking up at the Moon again. "We can try for the Moon whenever, but first, there's another adventure to begin. It would be too easy to just walk around or ask. A real man doesn't ask for what he wants; he just takes it! This adventure I have in mind, it's full of mountains and valleys and adventure! Don't you wanna see those lovely mountains and narrow valleys?"

Images of the possibilities of what the nude female body looked like flooded Tails's mind, and all logic and reason emptied out of his skull at the thought of glimpsing it.

A dumb grin spread across the fox boy's face as he placed his drill to the stone wall and began to spin it.

"I sure do," he mumbled.

"Cool! I'll try scaling the wall!" said Sonic, gripping the rock wall and preparing to climb.

_旅ってなぁ疲れるもんなんだよ_

Rotor typed away at his handheld, looking up at the white hedgehog and Chao beside him, under the shadow of Freedom Emerl. "You aren't going to the hot spring?"

"It's indecent to expose yourself in front of other people," Silver said simply. "I'll go in after everyone else is finished. Besides, I have a bad feeling about this situation. Some sort of... odd vibe in the air."

"If you say so..." said Rotor.

"Rotor?"

"Yes?"

"How do Sonic and Tails operate Freedom and Emerl? I never see them refueling their Gizoids."

Rotor scratched his chin. "I don't know, but they only seem to run when Sonic and Tails are feeling particularly... willing to fight, shall we say. Sonic would put it down to fighting spirit, and I'm not inclined to disagree with him."

"Yeah, I think I heard him mention that to Tails the day after me and Charmy and Cream came up from Galahad."

"Then there's your answer," said Rotor brightly

"Although, how a mechanical device can be powered by its pilot's drive to fight escapes me."

"You and me both," the walrus said. "Maybe, once the surface is reclaimed for Möbian life, we could be scientists together and puzzle it out."

"Maybe... if we can do it," said Silver, resting his chin on a fist.

"If anyone can, it's Sonic and Tails," said Rotor, returning to his typing.

Then he cocked an eyebrow.

"This is really strange..."

"What is?" asked Silver. Kukku's ball turned into a question mark.

"I programmed this thing to follow the exact signature of Freedom's recall point - y'know, where it went for pick-up before Sonic snatched it? - and... well, look at this."

Silver did.

"It's moving," Silver said. The blinking white point representing the recall point was shifting along pixel by pixel every few seconds.

"Exactly. We should've been right where the recall point was when we stopped earlier today, but nothing..."

"And it's not exactly likely that we would be able to miss a facility large enough to house, repair, and sortie Gizoids."

Rotor nodded. "Precisely my thoughts. It could mean that this data is unreliable. Think you could help out with this?"

Silver stared at the little monitor for a few seconds, and sighed in defeat.

"I guess I should mention. I... can't read."

"Really?" said Rotor. "I could teach you."

"Y-you could?" said Silver eagerly.

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

Eventually, Tails felt the pressure in front of his drill loosen up. Pulling it out, he saw starlight through the other side.

He waved up at Sonic; he didn't want to risk calling out with a hole carved in the wall. Sonic seemed not to notice.

_Guess I can peek myself_, Tails thought. _And he can see from up there..._

"What? No way! I am _not_ interested in Sonic in the _least_!" said Sally's sharp voice.

Tails peered through the hole. He saw Sally's cleavage and her mouth, and nothing else.

"Really? That sounded too fervent..." said Meg slyly.

"_Really_! It's the truth!" Sally insisted.

"Well, I'll chat him up, then," said Marine.

"What?" Sally asked.

"That means she will advance on him," said Blaze.

Sally seemed to hesitate there. "F-feel free! Don't let me stop you!"

"Or maybe you want Tails to be your bonzer bloke." Marine's arms fell over Sally's shoulders, groping her.

Tails's heart leapt.

Sally pushed Marine away, "Don't grab me there. And as for Tails..." She formed an 'X' with her hands. "Pass."

Tails nearly banged his head on the edge of the hole at that. He couldn't look anymore; he started at his feet in the water.

"Tails is just a little kid, following Sonic around in his shadow," Sally's voice drifted into Tails.

"He is rather hesitant as well, I must admit," said Blaze's voice.

"And he's right dodgy sometimes!" laughed Marine.

Tears spilled down Tails's face. Was this how everyone really thought of him? Was what they said true? Was he really just a little kid, forever caught in his big brother's shadow?

"But, I think that if he really worked at it, he could become a really good man."

Tails's tears dried instantly at Sally's words.

"What do you mean?" asked Meg.

"He may not have matured all the way just yet, but he comes through when it counts. I believe in him to pull through and become his own sort of man. Maybe even... the kind of man I could end up marrying."

Tails realized he was smiling, and looked from his feet, to his digging drill, then to the Core Drill around his neck.

He'd heard enough. What was a little peep show now when he could potentially have years with Sally to do this and that?

He picked up a rock and blocked out the ensuing argument between Sally and Marine over whether this counted as a declaration of love by plugging the hole he'd drilled.

He contented himself with squeezing water out from between his hands.

"What? You _gave up_?" called Sonic from the wall. He was quite high up.

_Let him have his peep show_, Tails thought. _I'll have all the time in the world with Sally once I'm old enough._

"Mm-hmm..." he mumbled absent-mindedly.

Sonic grumbled. "Looks like this adventure is all down to me," he said, resuming his climb.

If Tails had not been absorbed in the delight of Sally admitting that Tails could grow up into a great man, he would have realized that, just moments after plugging the hole, it had gotten inordinately quiet on the other end of the hot spring...

_燃えてばかりでいいのかい__?_

_Yes!_ Sonic thought, just two minutes after the big guy gave up on trying to see what any man should see. _I finally made it!_

Pulling himself over the edge, he stood upon the precarious edge of the rock wall dividing the natural hot spring, looked down into the section Sally had chosen for herself and the kids...

And saw just water and steam.

"What? Where are the girls?" He saw a flash of light glint in the distance. It wasn't where Freedom and Emerl were stashed.

It was a missile.

"WHAT THE HELL'S GOING O-..."

Sonic leapt from the wall just before the missile impacted the wall, obliterating the hot spring and sending Sonic and Tails flying.

The two Knothole villagers lay shaking under the stars and moon, just meters from what was once a natural hot spring.

"Damn... I was so close..." Sonic said, before opening his eyes.

His heart skipped a beat.

A looming silhouette, larger than any other... Two glowing red eyes...

"A _Gizoid at night_?" Sonic shouted.

"Yes!" said the Gizoid in a deep booming voice. "And now I shall burn you Möbians and your Gizoids to ash!"

Sonic and Tails ran from the Gizoid.

"No fair attacking at night! It's against the rules!" Sonic called back.

"I apologize," returned the Gizoid. "But my particular breed is _nocturnal_!"

Then the Gizoid stopped. Looking in the direction they were running, Sonic and Tails saw...

"Freedom!" Tails yelled. "With Emerl!" In its fist, at that.

"But who's piloting it?" Sonic asked.

Freedom's jaws moved, and Silver's voice said, "Just like you and Rotor explained, I'm piloting it with fighting spirit."

"Yeah, not bad, Pothead, but gangway!" Sonic leapt up Freedom's leg, pried open the cockpit, and took the controls.

Silver, unnerved at seeing a naked hedgehog, asked, "Should I... get out?"

"The sooner, the better!" Sonic shouted, and Silver bounded out. "Let's combine, Tails!" Freedom tossed Emerl down to Tails, who leapt into the cockpit.

"Right!" Tails said, pulling off his Core Drill and preparing to insert it...

"Fools!" boomed the Gizoid's voice. "Do you not care what fate befalls... them?"

The enemy Gizoid's eyes projected a beam of light into the sky, and it showed...

Sally, Charmy, Cream, and the three female Wandering Orphans, all behind bars. Some sort of... blocky filter was blocking their private parts with its blockiness.

"Hostages...?" asked Silver.

"It's Sally and the others!" Tails shouted.

"Do not fear," said the Gizoid. "I will not kill them. The women shall be sent to the Helix King himself as tributes."

"'Helix King'...?" asked Sonic distractedly, staring intently at the image of the girls (and Charmy).

"You are correct," the Gizoid replied. "The almighty god who rules over this world from the Capital. He and his Four Helix Generals descended on this planet to sweep it clean of you Möbian scum."

"So, the Helix King is the final boss," said Silver. "The root of all evil."

"I will not tolerate any derisive speech against the Helix King," snarled the Gizoid, bringing its arm back.

"Wait a minute!" said Sonic, and the Gizoid paused. "You still haven't explained something."

"I do not feel I am entitled to explain anything to a Möbian," the Gizoid rumbled. "I am a Black Arms, and I do not have time to pander with slime like you. But, I shall humor you in your last moments."

"What's that stuff that makes it so I can sort of see what's under it but not really?" Sonic asked, pointing Freedom's finger at the projected image.

The Gizoid was frozen for a moment, then its pilot recalled the Möbian penchant for procreation, and the state of dress of the people he had abducted, and decided to improvize a solution to this situation.

"If you want me to remove the mosaic filter, kindly step out of your Gizoid now."

Sally's face registered shock and a hint of disgust.

"Are you crazy?" shouted Emerl in Tails's voice. "The Freedom Fighters aren't stupid enough to fall for _that_, you coward!"

"Can you... remove those blocks?" asked Freedom.

Tails froze.

"Sonic...?"

"Forgive me, big guy," said Sonic as he leapt out of his Gizoid. Facing the enemy Gizoid, he said, "Okay, I'm out! Now, keep up your end of the deal."

The Gizoid chortled. "As you wish."

The blocks vanished, and... the girls were all wearing towels (Sally was also wearing an _extremely_ sour expression) and Sonic could see Charmy's stinger and then realized that Charmy was not wearing a towel, and that it wasn't Charmy's _stinger_ there...

"DON'T SCREW WITH ME!" Sonic screamed at the top of his lungs.

The enemy Gizoid opened up a third eye in the middle of its forehead, preparing to vaporize Sonic where he stood...

But the Black Arms pilot failed to understand just how Sonic earned his nickname: by being the fastest person in all of Knothole Village. Sonic flashed back into Freedom's cockpit, grabbed Emerl, and jammed the miniature Gizoid's freshly spawned drill into its own headless space, and Freedom Emerl stood erect in a blaze of green light.

Freedom Emerl pointed at the enemy Gizoid.

Sonic's voice carried for miles.

"YOU TOOK THE HEIGHTS OF THE MÖBIAN SPIRIT, THE VERY DEPTHS OF THE MALE SOUL, AND THEN YOU KICKED IT INTO THE DIRT, SMACKED IT AROUND, AND SMASHED IT! I'LL KILL YOU, THEN FOLLOW YOU DOWN TO HELL, AND KILL YOU A MILLION TIMES OVER!"

"ENOUGH TALK FROM YOU!" the Gizoid shouted, drawing blood-red claws. "JUST DIE!"

Freedom Emerl dodged the enemy's slice, pulled free its shades from its chest, and tossing them like a boomerang.

"'I'LL NEVER FORGIVE THIS SLIGHT AGAINST ALL MEN' BOOMERANG!"

The shades flew around the enemy Gizoid, slicing through the ropes that held the cage to its back, the cage falling to the ground and bursting open, the kidnapped Freedom Fighters freed.

"And now..." Freedom Emerl grabbed the enemy Gizoid's arm.

"What?" it said furiously, before being lifted off the ground and spun by Freedom Emerl, spinning on its heel.

"'THE FIGHTING SPIRIT OF AN ANGRY MAN IS INFINITE'..." He let it go. "SWING!"

The Gizoid flew towards the distant horizon, where the sun was just beginning to crest for sunrise. It disappeared into the mountains.

Sonic bounded out of Freedom, stretching his arms. "Man, I feel a _lot_ better now..."

Tails jumped down next to him, pointing at Sally, who was approaching. "Uhh, Sonic..." Tails didn't like that vein that was popping on Sally's forehead, or the way her hands were balled up into fists.

Sonic gave a tiny salute. "So you're alright, Sa-..."

**BAM**

Sonic fell to the ground, his hand over his nose, which was bleeding.

"SONIC, YOU IDIOT!" screeched Sally. "DID YOUR BRAINS ROT OUT? OR WERE YOU EVEN _THERE _WHEN THEY WERE HANDED OUT? IT WAS OBVIOUSLY A TRAP!"

Sonic stood up again, his arms folded as he said sincerely, "I'm sorry! It's just..." His face screwed up in anger. "There are some things I just have to see!"

Sally's anger defused by Sonic's declaration, she stammered while everyone else gathered around this little scene, then finally...

"Th-then you should have just _told_ me!" she yelled back. "If you wanted to see them _that _badly, I could've shown them to you any time!"

A moment to process the words.

And then...

Sonic's expression remained unchanged.

Tails's jaw dropped.

Kukku's ball turned into an exclamation point.

Rotor raised an eyebrow.

Silver palmed his face in both hands.

Meg muttered slyly, "'Not interested in the least', huh?"

Blaze's eyes widened ever so slightly.

Marine put a fist in the air and cheered.

And Sally blushed furiously.

She waved her arms flusteredly, "Wait, th-that didn't come out quite the way I wanted it to and..." Sally pointed in the distance, the current situation forgotten. "What's..." She gasped and ducked. "INCOMING!"

And everything went white.

When everyone came to again, the sun was slightly higher up, and everyone was tossed about and falling back and forth between consciousness and unconsciousness.

Silver realized he was lying on top of Blaze. He blushed. She did too.

"Uh... I'm Silver from Galahad."

"I am Blaze... from Percival."

"Wh... what do you think just happened?"

"What's that?" yelled Sonic, sitting bolt upright and pointing at a tornado which had just kicked up less than fifty paces away.

When the tornado stopped, a familiar white Gizoid was standing there, a bladed crest where its head once was.

And on its shoulder...

A Black Arms. Who looked almost exactly like a hedgehog.

"It's been a long time... filthy animals!" he snarled.

"Wait, you're..." Sonic said, recognizing an old rival.

Sally drew a pistol; Nicole was in the metal hut Freedom Emerl was dragging around, and she didn't want to move from this spot until the battle had begun.

"I see you fool Möbians are still having fun on the surface," the Black Arms hedgehog crossed his arms. "But that is finished now!"

"Shadow..." Sonic muttered.

"'Now, you will return my helmet to me'..." Shadow narrowed his eyes. "Is what I'd like to say now... But first things first."

He closed his eyes, and looked away from what could have passed for a nudist colony on the surface.

"Put some clothes on," he said lowly.

And everyone realized that in the blast that had preceded Shadow's re-entry into their lives, their clothes had either been blown off or blown away.

The girls covered themselves in embarrassment.

Sonic and Tails exchanged confused glances.

Kukku's ball turned into a question mark.

**つづく  
To be continued...**

**

* * *

**

次回予告  
Next Episode Preview

It doesn't matter if the enemy is the size of a skyscraper. All that counts is how great your fighting spirit is! With fighting spirit, you can do anything!

Next time on _Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl_: _**"You Don't Get Anywhere By Running Away!"**_


	10. Chapter 9

_(Chapter Nine! This is a special chapter to me, because episode 7 was the first episode I saw of the series _Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann_. It and episode 8 (;_;) were the episodes playing in Anime Club the meeting after I joined, so those episodes are particularly special to me._

_Also, just so it's clear to reviewers and readers who've seen the anime _Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann_, I intend to follow the canon storyline. Granted, the manga and movies are influencing certain plot ideas (ie: omitting episode 4), but all in all, I am sticking to the canon story development.)_

"This is the tale of a man who has yet to realize what his destiny is.

"Days of fruitless searching pass as the Freedom Fighters searched for the enemy recall point.

"Just as they prepared to resume their journey after foiling an underhanded hot spring trap set by a Gizoid, a familiar old foe appeared before them.

"This was the beginning of a new set of trials."

**CHAPTER NINE:  
You Don't Get Anywhere By Running Away!**

Freedom Emerl clashed its shades against the ARK-Cronus's twin black blades, the two Gizoids spinning around each other, looking for an opening in their opponent's line of defense.

"You're being real understanding..." called out Sonic to Shadow, from Freedom Emerl to ARK-Cronus, green eyes glinting behind red shades, "I mean, giving us the time to get dressed like this!"

Inside the cockpit of his downgraded Gizoid, Shadow cocked his head. "Defeating a band of _naked _filthy animals would not earn me any honors."

Freedom Emerl and ARK-Cronus's blades locked, and - much to Sonic and Tails, and all of the Freedom Fighters' dismay - Shadow managed to deflect Freedom Emerl's shades. The headless enemy Gizoid grabbed Freedom Emerl by the arm.

"We warriors of the Capital prize decorum above all else!" shouted Shadow as ARK-Cronus hurled Freedom Emerl into the air.

"The Capital?" Sonic asked.

Tails's face appeared on one of Freedom's monitors. "That hot springs Gizoid mentioned the Capital, too! That must be their base, Sonic!"

ARK-Cronus crouched, ready to pounce. Shadow's voice took on a more threatening tone.

"A 'base'? It is not so insignificant as a meer base!" he cried, leaping up on to Freedom Emerl even as the heroic Gizoid fell, attempting to drive one of his swords into Freedom's mouth, but Sonic's Gizoid clamped its jaws shut at the last moment.

The two Gizoids impacted into the dry dirt, creating a crater.

"The Capital is unique, and eternal!" ARK-Cronus bellowed in Shadow's voice. "It is ruled by the one and only Helix King, and is the sole example of civilization on the surface!"

"Helix King?" breathed Tails.

"Civilization?" asked Sonic.

ARK-Cronus brought both of its swords up, prepared to bisect the stolen Gizoid.

"Sonic!" cried out Sally, Meg, Blaze, and Marine.

"Look out!" shouted Rotor.

Freedom Emerl stood bolt upright, drills emerging from either side of each of its fists, catching the blades just in time.

"Damn you..." snarled Shadow. ARK-Cronus's eyes locked on to Emerl's crown-like warrior crest. "Return my helmet to me this instant!"

Sonic scoffed.

"You mean after all that fighting, _that's_ all you want?"

And with a twist of its wrists, Freedom Emerl shattered ARK-Cronus's blades. Black shards fell about into the cracked earth.

In his cockpit, Shadow was momentarily stunned that a lowly blue hedgehog in a stolen Gizoid could break his swords _again_.

But he quickly recovered.

He had the might of one of the Four Helix Generals behind him.

"You seem determined to make a complete and utter enemy of the Capital," he growled, pushing a small button on his console, signalling the fortress. "Now... face the power of the Capital!"

Over the mountains, the sun seemed to flare, and Sonic and his fellow Freedom Fighters pondered for a moment just how powerful their foe was...

When they realized that it was not a flare from the sun, but a bullet the size of a Gizoid.

ARK-Cronus leapt aside. Freedom Emerl dodged in the opposite direction...

And was knocked off of its feet by the explosion.

Bullets didn't explode.

That was a missile.

The Freedom Fighters hid behind a boulder from the remains of the hot spring to avoid being crushed by Freedom Emerl.

"What the hell was that?" asked Sally.

When the dust and dirt brought up from Freedom Emerl's impact settled, everyone looked in the direction of the blast.

A mountain was moving.

"A mountain...?" Silver raised an eyebrow.

Freedom Emerl brought itself up to its knees.

"A mountain?" asked Tails.

"Since when do mountains shoot at you?" demanded Sonic.

A mountain with legs approached. An earthquake rumbled with each footstep.

"It's moving!" Silver shouted.

"What?" said Sonic.

Flashes and bangs came from the mountain. Freedom Emerl was sent flying.

Sonic tried to push Freedom Emerl to its feet.

"What could have this kind of firepower?" he asked.

And then he heard ARK-Cronus approaching.

_Well_, he thought. _As if things could be worse..._

"Do you now know... the power of the Capital?" asked Shadow, as ARK-Cronus placed its hands on either side of the bladed crest where its head was, and with a great effort, pulled it free.

An emergency third sword.

"Yikes," said Sonic as Freedom Emerl dodged ARK-Cronus's attack with its new third sword.

"Give my helmet back to me!" Shadow called again.

"No way! This helmet's part of Freedom Emerl now!" Sonic said, Freedom Emerl holding its shades out like a sword. "You be happy with that mohawk you're swinging around!"

"That is enough of your insolence," said Shadow, replacing the crest blade between ARK-Cronus's shoulders and stepping back.

And as the mountain stepped closer, they realized something.

This was not a natural creation.

This was a machine.

A Gizoid.

A large, yellow humanoid that stood as high as twenty-seven Freedom Emerls, with very wide hips that made up the bladed prow as long as the Gizoid was tall, came to a stop just twenty-three Freedom Emerls away from the Freedom Fighters, its prow casting a dark shadow over them.

"It's huge!" Sally gasped.

"It's so big!" breathed Meg.

"So awe-inspiring..." said Blaze.

"It's bloody massive!" cried Marine.

"What a behemoth..." Silver said.

"Well... This is a problem..." Rotor mumbled.

ARK-Cronus raised an arm to gesture at the goliath Gizoid which had just arrived. "See this, blue hedgehog? This is the mobile fortress Gizoid, Great MetaFlare!"

**巨大地上戦艦型ギゾイド  
グレイトメタフレア  
Ground Mobile Fortress Gizoid  
****Great MetaFlare**

Tails's heart stopped.

"S-Sonic! Th-that thing is just too big for us!"

In Freedom, Sonic just smirked.

"This'll be interesting," he said.

Outside, Rotor's handheld on his belt began to beep rapidly, and comprehension dawned on him.

He paled.

Rotor grabbed his handheld and typed away on it, only confirming the truth.

"This is bad," he said, already knowing that that was the biggest understatement of his life. "This Gizoid _is _the recall point. It overlaps perfectly with Freedom's point of origin that we've been searching for for weeks. It makes sense, given that it was moving around. The base itself _is _a Gizoid!"

The face on the headless behemoth's chest - identified by its large glowing eyes that, from this vantage point, would likely have spanned Freedom Emerl's arm-span, and its glowing teeth - began to move in time to a voice.

"You seem to be having a bit of trouble, Shadow," the Great MetaFlare said.

ARK-Cronus bowed.

"My apologies, sir," said Shadow.

"It looks like there's someone in there, Sonic," Tails said.

Freedom Emerl began to step towards the Great MetaFlare.

Quickly, Sally tuned in the mic she had to Freedom's frequency and shouted, "Sonic, get back! That has to be the boss of the Black Arms!"

Sonic ignored her.

"No one's ever cast such a big shadow over me before," he smirked. "Don't think you're going home unscathed, pal!"

In Emerl, Tails was shaking. "Sonic, maybe we should listen to what he's saying and go back!" Tails gulped loudly at the prow of the Great MetaFlare, looming a hundred feet over his head. "W-we're no match for something this big!"

"We're gonna knock him on his ass _because_ he's so big!" Sonic retorted.

"What's the matter, Möbians? Lost your nerve?" asked Shadow in ARK-Cronus.

"Butt out, stripey!" Sonic snapped back.

Freedom Emerl looked back up at the Great MetaFlare's face, focusing on one particular eye; Sonic thought he'd seen something moving in there.

"You Möbians have gotten too high and mighty in coming to the surface, and by persisting in staying above ground, have incurred the wrath of the Helix King," said the Great MetaFlare.

There! Sonic saw a horned figure in the Great MetaFlare's right eye.

Sonic yelled up at the silhouette in the window, "We see you up there, you Black Arms bastard!"

"_I am not a Black Arms!_" shouted the figure, the floor beneath him rising up and bringing him through a hole in the roof of Great MetaFlare's command center, allowing him to be seen clearly.

Neither Sonic nor Tails, nor, indeed, any of the Freedom Fighters, had never seen a creature like this before. He had no fur covering his greenish-yellow skin, only grass-green hair that may actually have _been _grass growing from his head. It may have been grass, because the figure had two horns that resembled thorns on either side of his head. He had no nose or ears, but he did have a tail. He only wore an orange jacket.

"Do not compare me to those creatures!" said the plantlike man. "I am one of the Helix King's Four Helix Generals..."

**螺旋四天王の一人  
シン・イエローゼルコヴァ  
One of the Four Helix Generals****  
Syne Yellowzelkova**

"And I am known as Syne Yellowzelkova! I and my fellow Generals command the Black Arms, and we obey only the Helix King! And in my Great MetaFlare, I shall punish you for coming to the surface, foolish Möbians!"

The Great MetaFlare brought its weaponry around to bear, firing rounds of deadly ammunition at Freedom Emerl. ARK-Cronus retreated to one of the Great MetaFlare's feet, which sprung open and revealed an elevator shaft up the Gizoid's leg.

The great Gizoid was knocked back, its two pilots being thrown about their respective cockpits before landing on the earth less than twenty feet from Sally.

"C'mon, run this way now!" she called out.

But when Freedom Emerl pulled itself up, instead of running away, it ran _towards _the Great MetaFlare again, Sonic yelling, "Son of a...!"

"Stop!" Sally yelled, but Sonic either didn't hear or didn't care.

Every cannon on the Great MetaFlare's prow lit up like miniature suns, and Freedom Emerl vanished in a cloud of black choking smoke. Fear and uncertainty stayed Sally, the only signs that Sonic was still alive being Sonic's occasional yell from out of the smoke.

"Do you Möbians seriously believe you can take us down by stealing our Gizoids?" asked Yellowzelkova over the din. "You can try to steal as many Gizoids as you want, but all of them are ineffectual against my Great MetaFlare!"

Eventually, the firing ceased, and the smoke cleared in the wind, and... Freedom Emerl was still standing there. Its arms were braced around its chest, and there were several torn metal plates across its body, but it was clear that Sonic and Tails were still alive.

"Who's the real 'ineffectual' one here, sprout?" Sonic asked, sounding like he'd run a mile. "That didn't hurt at all." Freedom Emerl shook its fist. "Don't mess with Freedom Emerl!"

And fell to its knees.

In Freedom's cockpit, Sonic was struggling to pull the controls up to force Freedom Emerl back to its feet.

Tails appeared in the corner of his eye. "It's no good! Our left leg is damaged!"

ARK-Cronus appeared on another screen. "Are you prepared to surrender, blue hedgehog?"

Sally appeared over ARK-Cronus. "Come on, Sonic! If you're going to retreat once in your life, make this it!"

Silver appeared next to Tails. "Sonic, I suggest that we withdraw for now and prepare a more detailed strategy."

Tails chimed in again, "I think we're in real trouble this time."

Every word spoken only drove Sonic's anger higher and higher, and then, finally...

The smirk disappeared.

"Are you kidding me?" he yelled, slamming a fist onto Freedom's console. "Never look back, never retreat, never surrender! That's how me and Tails see the world!"

"Sonic!" Sally shouted again.

"No more talk!" Sonic shouted, clenching the controls as tightly as he could, green sparks flying out of them as every screen blazed with green light.

In Emerl...

"Why are you dragging _me_ into this?" Tails asked as every screen flooded with emerald lights.

From outside, green light appeared to flow out from every joint and broken spot on Freedom Emerl's body, and in a burst of emerald energy, the yellow Gizoid was as good as new.

"Huh? I-it fixed itself!" Tails said in awe, looking down at the machine. Freedom was now sparkling.

"It's the _fighting spirit_!" said Sonic on Tails's monitor with enough vehemence to frighten Kukku into producing an exclamation point from his head.

Sonic's face was set in determination.

"You don't get anywhere by running away!" he said in a set tone.

Sally's face on one of Freedom's monitor was exasperated. "Fine! See if I care! You blockhead!"

"Who asked you? Get clear!" Sonic shouted at her before thrusting with the controls, and Freedom Emerl bolted forward.

The Great MetaFlare opened fire on the charging Gizoid, but the ensuing blasts began to stretch back to the Freedom Fighters, prompting Rotor to grab Sally by the arm and drag her away from the battlefield.

"I can run on my own, Rotor!" she shouted. Rotor let her go.

"We have to get away from the battlefield. Sonic can handle himself against that inside Freedom Emerl, but we can't," Rotor said.

After a few minutes, they reached a valley at the edge of the nearby mountain range. At the top, they could see the tops of trees.

Using Rotor's binoculars to try to see the action on the Great MetaFlare, Sally found herself thinking, _Don't get yourself killed, Sonic..._

_合体なんてクソくらえ__!_

"There's no way we can get up there, Sonic!" Tails said as Freedom Emerl ran back and forth underneath the huge Gizoid, where there were blind spots in the Great MetaFlare's weapon banks.

"I have an idea!" Sonic said, and Freedom Emerl ran back out from underneath Great MetaFlare.

On the prow of the Great MetaFlare, ARK-Cronus peered down at the stolen Gizoid, standing there like a statue. In plain view of every one of the Great MetaFlare's turrets.

"Oh? Have you decided to give up, blue hedgehog?" Shadow called down to the idiot blue hedgehog.

And in a mushroom cloud from a full barrage of Great MetaFlare's missiles engulfed Freedom Emerl.

Looking up into the explosion, Shadow saw Freedom Emerl, still intact, but blasted high into the air by the force of the blast.

"Your resistance was brave, but doomed to fail," he said, in eulogy of the fallen blue hedgehog. "The Great MetaFlare's combined barrage will now reduce you to charred scrap!"

Shadow could not have known at that moment that, actually, Sonic and Tails were alive and well, and were prepared to put Sonic's idea into action.

Freedom Emerl flipped into a battle-ready position, and Shadow realized that they were still active... and in a position to land on the Great MetaFlare's prow.

"Impossible!" he cried.

Behind him, in the Great MetaFlare's bridge, General Yellowzelkova roared, "Fire, _fire, FIRE!_"

Shadow removed his bladed crest in the event that the blue hedgehog made it through the Great MetaFlare's missile massacre and came to him.

Freedom Emerl dove through the missile blasts towards the ARK-Cronus, an energy shield generated by Sonic's sheer force of will deflecting the destructive energy of the missiles. Suddenly, the Gizoid erupted into flames.

In a moment of panic, Shadow hurled his blade at Freedom Emerl, but the flames deflected it into the Great MetaFlare's deck.

Sonic's yell rang out.

"Burning Man's..." Freedom Emerl angled its leg toward ARK-Cronus. "Blazing Chariot... _KIII~ICK!_"

Freedom Emerl impacted fully into ARK-Cronus, carving a burned valley into the deck of the Great MetaFlare's prow, leaving ARK-Cronus half-buried while Freedom Emerl's flames died out and the great Gizoid collapsed to its knees following that dramatic attack.

_燃える男の火の車キック_

Silver, now the one who was looking through Rotor's binoculars, was slightly put off by those billowing clouds of smoke from the deck of the Great MetaFlare.

"Something doesn't seem right..." he said.

"Is Sonic alright? I hope he did not die," said Blaze.

"I can't tell," Silver said.

"No way would Sonic cark it!" Marine said, shaking a fist.

"But there was that huge explosion..." said Rotor uncertainly.

_CRASH_

An earthquake landed nearby.

The Freedom Fighters faced it.

"It's the Gizoid from the hot springs trap!" screamed Meg.

So it was.

"General Yellowzelkova will be quite irritated that I attempted to take hostages," it said. "But a Black Arms has to do what it can to do achieve results."

Sally fired on it with her pistol, but after six shots, she'd emptied her clip.

"If only I had Nicole with me!" she lamented.

The Gizoid had managed to back them to a corner of the canyon.

"There's nowhere to run!" Blaze called in alarm.

And just as the Gizoid opened its third eye to blast them...

A mechanized voice shouted "TITANIUM HEAD DRIVER!" and a Gizoid with a spiked head dove straight down into the enemy Gizoid's head, flipping onto its legs and then splitting its spiked head into five dreadlock-looking components, causing the enemy Gizoid to explode.

"A Gizoid... saved us?" Sally said.

"It doesn't seem to be an enemy," said Silver.

"But, its red plating looks a little haphazard," Rotor noted.

Sally called out to it. "If you aren't an enemy, go help Sonic!" It turned to face her. "He needs whatever help he can get! Lend us your power!"

The Gizoid's mouth opened, and a dreadlocked figure stepped out - Meg, Blaze, and Marine gasped and smiled - and Knuckles The Echidna smirked and asked, "What's that idiot Sonic up to now?"

**つづく  
To be continued...**

* * *

次回予告  
Next Episode Preview

Sometimes a man has to do what a man has to do. Someday, someplace, maybe here, maybe there, you'll come across a great chance! Whether you live or die is up to your ability!

Next time on _Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl_: _**"That's Why **_**You're **_**Gonna Do It!"**_

_(This chapter was editted on June 17th 2010, because I accidentally wrote 'Sine' when this was initially posted, instead of 'Syne'. I reversed the Thymine-Sylph thing; Thymilph in the series got **Thymi**ne and Sy**lph**; Yellow Zelkova here gets **Sy**lph and Thymi**ne**. Make sense?)_


	11. Chapter 10

_(Chapter Ten. See if you can catch the Star Wars references in this chapter!)_

* * *

Sonic chuckled to himself. "Well, that was really a lot rougher than I thought it was gonna be."

"This plan?" Tails asked.

"No," Sonic said, straining his arms, trying to get Freedom Emerl to push itself up. "The landing."

Freedom Emerl got up from its fallen position, leaping onto the main cannons of the Great MetaFlare, just before the goliath Gizoid's torso. So long as they held this position, they were safe from any barrage.

"Very impressive, Möbian," said Syne Yellowzelkova from his perch. "But do not think this means you've won. Even if you were to somehow take down my Great MetaFlare, I am just _one_ of the Four Helix Generals! And even then, you stand no chance against the rest of the Capital's military might!"

"Yeah, whatever!" Freedom Emerl waved one of its hands dismissively as Sonic spoke. "I never got around to introducing myself, so clean out those thorny ears of yours and listen close!"

Freedom Emerl mimed grabbing the sun...

"He takes the flaming sun in his hands and endures the heat!"

Then clenched that fist...

"He's hedgehog perfection sustained by sheer force of will!"

And pointed at the sun with that fist...

"When you hear them talk about Sonic The Hedgehog, they're talking about _me!_"

And pointed at Yellowzelkova with his other fist!

"You better remember that!"

A pregnant pause passed.

"I'm scared, Sonic!" said Tails.

"Don't worry, Tails," Sonic said. "As long as we're here, they can't fire at us."

Yellowzelkova paused. "You are clever, sneaky hedgehog," he snarled. "But don't think we're going to _fire_ on you. Look behind you."

Freedom Emerl turned... and narrowly dodged a sword swipe from ARK-Cronus.

"A real warrior fights to the death, blue hedgehog!" came Shadow's voice. "And I'm not through yet!"

Freedom Emerl leapt back, wresting its shade-sword from its chest. "This will be quick, Shadow!" replied Sonic.

"WAIT A MINUTE!" came a loud voice as a red Gizoid with spike-dreadlocks leapt up onto the deck, springs popping out of its feet. It landed between Freedom Emerl and ARK-Cronus, facing Shadow's Gizoid.

"That Gizoid isn't on our side?" Shadow wondered.

And Knuckles's face appeared on Sonic and Tails's respective monitors.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Sonic!" said the echidna.

...

Freedom Emerl scratched its head. "Who are you again?" asked Sonic.

"IT'S ME, KNUCKLES OF THE WANDERING ORPHANS!" Knuckles roared. "DID YOU FORGET ALREADY?"

**CHAPTER TEN:  
That's Why **_**You're **_**Gonna Do It!**

"What are you doing in a Gizoid, Knuckles?" Tails asked.

"Don't think I'm copying you or anything!" Then Knuckles calmed down somewhat and smirked. "Turns out Gizoid-napping is easier than you could've thought. I mean, if you guys could do it, why wouldn't I?"

"Great vote of confidence there, Knuckles," Sonic quipped.

ARK-Cronus brought its crest-sword to bear. "I can just as easily fight two as one, blue hedgehog. Don't think this means you've won!"

"Sonic!" Knuckles said from his Gizoid. "You take that big-ass creep up there..." He turned to face Shadow.

**キングナックルズ  
King Knuckles**

"And I'll take this bozo, in my King Knuckles!"

"You got it!" Sonic smirked, before pointing Freedom Emerl's finger at Yellowzelkova. "You hear that, you overgrown weed? Four Helix Generals or not, the Freedom Fighters are gonna kick _all_ your asses!"

And that's when Sonic made his blunder:

He jumped.

And Yellowzelkova's Great MetaFlare made its move.

Swinging a tremendous arm around and smacking Freedom Emerl...

Then bringing its other arm about and punching the Gizoid into its other hand.

"Just how long did you think you could run your big mouth on my Great MetaFlare?" asked Yellowzelkova as the Great MetaFlare smacked its hands together, smashing Freedom Emerl from either side. "When it comes to big mouths, my Great MetaFlare's is the biggest!"

Meanwhile, King Knuckles locked hands with ARK-Cronus.

"I'm gonna take revenge, you Black Arms son of a bitch! For all the people in Gawain Village, and Feral Forest, and Percival, and Windmill!"

ARK-Cronus froze.

But only for a moment.

"I don't remember those villages," Shadow said, coldly.

King Knuckles froze. "Wh-what did you say?"

This was not at all how Knuckles thought it would progress.

"You fool," said Shadow, kicking out King Knuckles's feet from under it. "Do you honestly think that those four were the only villages I destroyed?"

"You..."

Knuckles thrust the controls violently.

"YOU BASTARD!"

King Knuckles dived towards ARK-Cronus, its spike-dreadlocks coming together into a single driving spike...

Which ARK-Cronus caught with its bare hands.

"You thought you could defeat me using a third-rate Gizoid such as that?" Shadow taunted, before tossing Knuckles and his Gizoid off the side of the Great MetaFlare. "Then, such foolishness would be expected of a Möbian."

At that moment, Freedom Emerl crashed to the deck.

"He's all yours, Shadow," said Yellowzelkova, having returned to the bridge. "Activate the Catapult Arms!"

___ＢａｆＢａｆ__！_そんなに燃えるのが…好きかい_?_

Silver paled at the sight through his binoculars of the Great MetaFlare swinging its arms in their direction, and flashes of light coming towards them.

"Something's coming!" he cried.

"What is?" asked Meg.

Blaze paled.

"Gizoids...!" she said.

"Run away, run away!" shouted Marine.

A cannon blast from behind them tore one of the Gizoids apart. The second only had a moment to register its surprise before it too was destroyed.

Turning in the direction of the blasts, they saw a bluish-green Gizoid resembling an engine with a face, with stumpy arms and legs...and a cannon on its head.

And it spoke to them in a familiar voice.

"Get back, Sal, while me and Knuckles go help Sonic and Tails!"

Sally faltered as everyone else ran behind the Gizoid.

"Is that...?"

The Gizoid's mouth opened, and a squirrel-chipmunk man with Sally's hair and eyes stood out, smiling at his younger sister.

"It's been a while, Sal," said Elias. "What do you think of my Eliastriker?"

**エリアストライカー  
Eliastriker**

"It's good that you managed to get one, Elias," Sally said. "It really saved our skins there."

"I managed to nab one for you too, Sal. It was apparently a twin model with Eliastriker here; twin Black Arms were using it; I only just managed to get the first one."

Sally smiled weakly. "Thanks, Elias, but I don't see how I'll need a Gizoid. I got Nicole with me." A short pause. "Incidentally, where is it?"

"It's back with the others."

Sally froze.

"Others?"

"There are plenty of other comrades who came together from all other villages who want to join the Freedom Fighters. Some of them brought Gizoids of their own. Word travels fast about Sonic, it seems."

Sally went slack. Sonic was doing it; never before had she heard of Gizoids being stolen, and now Sonic was setting off a trend of Möbians on the surface not destroying Gizoids, but taking them for their own. This would have two benefits, one of which was inherent to just destroying the Gizoids: the enemy had fewer Gizoids to dispatch to kill Möbians. However, the added benefit to_ stealing_ Gizoids was that the Möbians had the advantage of giving the Black Arms a taste of their own medicine. And it sounded like there were a lot of people who had stolen Gizoids for themselves.

_We can probably do this_, Sally thought. _We can probably take down the Great MetaFlare._

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

Syne Yellowzelkova blanched at the sight of the stolen Gizoid. It was bad enough that this planet's uppity animals had stolen _one _Gizoid, but that at least three were confirmed stolen and an untold sum of others were also in Möbian hands... it was enough to make his blood boil.

"Stinking Möbians... FILTHY VERMIN!" The Great MetaFlare reached down and grabbed Freedom Emerl mid-tussle with ARK-Cronus. "I'll show you what it means to arouse the anger of a Helix General!"

And tossed Freedom Emerl. It impacted halfway up its waist in the dry, cracked earth. It took the Gizoid several seconds to prise itself out.

Then Yellowzelkova gave the order to fire at will.

_お前ら全員燃えてしまえっ！！！_

Sonic's screams of alarm finally made it through his radio channel to Sally, bringing her back to the world.

Elias ducked back into Eliastriker's cockpit, shielding Sally from the potential flak from the Great MetaFlare until King Knuckles dashed up behind them.

When they'd reached a safe distance from the battle, Sally put a hand over her ear and shouted into her microphone to reach Sonic.

"Sonic, Tails, listen! We've got lots of new allies about to show up."

"What?" Sonic said.

"Allies?" echoed Tails.

"Yeah, and that's why you have to get back here as soon as possible. If you die here, Sonic, who's gonna lead us? Who's going to lead our new allies?"

"Get off my case!" shouted back Sonic. "Like I said before, you don't get _shit _for running away!"

Freedom Emerl, which had actually turned to face Sally at this point in the battle, had inadvertently turned its back to the Great MetaFlare, exposing itself to enemy fire. Freedom Emerl was flung into the air from the blasts. Sonic screamed over the comm channel.

Sally's heart pounded at the thought of Sonic dying there.

Inside Freedom Emerl, a video communication channel opened between Sonic and Tails.

"Sonic!"

"Yeah, what?"

"Sally's right! Let's retreat. Just this once!"

"What the hell? Have you lost your nerve?"

"Yes! My nerve is done and gone!"

"Coward!"

"If it means getting you back in one piece, I'll lose my nerve if that's what it takes! I mean, everyone's waiting for you, Sonic!"

Sonic's angry, determined expression faltered.

"SONIC!" Tails shouted again.

"We can't."

Freedom Emerl landed flat on its back.

"Look at the size of that thing, Tails!" Sonic said, indicating the Great MetaFlare. "You saw what happened when we turned our back to that thing. We'll be sitting ducks if we run! Either way - if we beat them today or some other day - unless we pin it down, we won't have a chance of winning!"

Tails looked down. "That's true... but... how do we-..."

Tails's eyes were suddenly drawn out of Emerl's windows, looking at the surrounding rocky landscape.

_It's so dry... and cracked..._ Tails thought. _If something hit it in the right spot..._

And a plan came to him.

"Sonic, I have an idea!" he said, his expression determined.

"What is it?" the blue hedgehog asked.

"Let me handle it," Tails replied, staring into Sonic's eyes behind those pointed red shades.

Tails could clearly see Sonic's thought process; he was wondering if Tails would just take this opportunity to run. Eventually, Sonic apparently was able to see that this was a plan that Tails would be better suited to acting out, and nodded in acknowledgment, removing his hands from Freedom's controls.

"Gotcha," he said, folding his arms. "I'll leave this fight to you, Tails!"

Tails nodded.

And Freedom Emerl began to run away from the Great MetaFlare, but distinctly away from where the rest of the Freedom Fighters had hidden.

The Great MetaFlare roared to life, stomping after Freedom Emerl. "You won't get away!" called out Yellowzelkova.

"What's he doing out there?" asked Knuckles, using one of King Knuckles's hands to shade his Gizoid's eyes.

From Sally's vantage point, peering through the binoculars, she had no idea what Tails was planning. She'd heard him taking on the role of Freedom Emerl's primary pilot, but she had no clue why Tails was running away from the Great MetaFlare, leaping away from the gunfire of the giant Gizoid, and then... was he firing drills at the Great MetaFlare? No, the drills were missing wildly, either falling short of the enemy's fortress Gizoid, firing off to either side, or somehow flying around it and impacting behind it.

Following Freedom Emerl's apparent path, Sally gasped.

"They're at a cliff!" she called out to the other Freedom Fighters.

"There's nowhere else for them to run..." said Silver, slumping his shoulders.

"Were they really that foolish?" pondered Rotor.

_トロイデルバースト_

ARK-Cronus stood at the forefront of the prow of the Great MetaFlare, looking down on Freedom Emerl. It had missed horribly with its drill bullets, and was now pinned down.

"It's over," he called out to them.

Then he heard that fox brat's voice from Freedom Emerl, rather than the blue hedgehog's.

"Yeah, for _you_!"

And then Shadow realized something: the drill bullets were impaled in the earth in an _exact circle_ around the Great MetaFlare.

_What are you planning, blue hedgehog?_ he thought.

General Yellowzelkova's voice boomed from the bridge, "Filthy Möbians, what are you planning?" The Great MetaFlare lurched forward as Yellowzelkova roared, "I'LL CRUSH YOU UNDERFOOT!"

A bolt of lightning rang through Shadow's head, and he understood what the blue hedgehog was planning.

"General, stop! It's a-..."

But Yellowzelkova would not listen, even as Freedom Emerl brought its fist up, four drills emerging from its wrist, and, with a primal scream from the fox brat, brought the fist into the dry, cracked dirt.

Green light poured out from every drill embedded in a circle around the Great MetaFlare, which in turn lit up every fissure in the earth, every break in the rocks, in a spiral in towards the mammoth Gizoid.

And the circle of earth beneath the Great MetaFlare collapsed.

Shadow sent a communications message to the blue hedgehog. "Damn you, blue hedgehog!"

The blue hedgehog snorted, his arms crossed. "Don't look at me, buddy. It was my little brother that did this to you."

"The fox cub?" Shadow felt even more deeply humiliated. Even as the Great MetaFlare and ARK-Cronus fell, Shadow called out to the pilots of Freedom Emerl. "Mark my words, you dirty animals! This is not the end! This Great MetaFlare is just the smallest fraction of the Capital's military might! And you just made a mortal enemy of that might! We'll be back tomorrow! Say your prayers...!"

Inside Emerl, Tails was breathing heavily. It was a tough plan to bring about, and he had to willingly stride into that danger zone where his heart pounded like crazy and he felt like he _was going to just die_, and it worked!

Sonic's face appeared in the corner of his eye, smiling approvingly at Tails. "That's Tails The Digger for you! Not bad, big guy!"

Tails chuckled a little.

_お前の__で天を衝け__!_

The battle won for the day, Freedom Emerl strode towards the plateau-mounted forest where their new comrades were gathered. King Knuckles and Eliastriker were waiting for them outside the grove, the remaining Freedom Fighters standing around the two Gizoids.

Something was moving with the wind over the treetops.

"Is that...?" Tails's eyes widened. "It _is_! Look at that, Sonic! It's the Freedom Fighters' emblem!"

A flag bearing the flaming skull with pointed shades, the mark of the Freedom Fighters, was flapping about on a flagpole stretching above the tops of the tallest trees..

Through the treetops, the tips of the heads of at least seven more Gizoids could be seen. One of them had a large cannon on its head, like Eliastriker.

"Look at that, Sonic!" Tails's heart soared. This is what Sonic did by coming to the surface; he rallied people behind him to fight the power and do the impossible.

Knuckles appeared in the corner of his eye.

"So, whaddya think? These are a bunch of other people who are resisting the Black Arms and their Gizoids! They heard about a couple idiots who were fighting in a stolen Gizoid, and decided to join the party!" Knuckles waved a mitt in the air. "Basically, we all caught your stupidity bug."

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

That night...

Rotor's mechanical avatars, each a spider-like disc a half a foot across, were hard at work repairing the damage done to Freedom Emerl during this battle.

"So, fighting spirit repaired the armor?" he mused.

Tails nodded. "Yeah, but as soon as Freedom and Emerl separated, the damage came back."

"Direct energy-to-matter conversion? I suppose that is what makes Emerl so powerful."

Tails turned to Elias.

"Oh, I just remembered. What happened to your villagers?"

"We left them in the care of _your_ village and its chief," he said.

Tails was perplexed. "And Chief Ivo agreed to that?"

Elias looked up at Freedom. "He cares for his villagers a lot more now than when you left. Freedom Emerl is a symbol of hope for Möbiankind, more so than you can imagine."

Silver approached. "Still, you should be careful. Good intentions can sometimes tempt people down the wrong path. Just like in Galahad Village..."

"Yo, Pothead!" Sonic smacked Silver in the forehead. "You still talking like you know it all?"

"Hey, Sonic!" Knuckles called over from the Gizoids, waving a large mitt in the air. "Everyone's gotten together now. Come meet everyone!"

A green crocodile with a cigarette clenched between his jaws shook Sonic's hand.

"Name's Vector," he said with a kind but gravelly voice. He looked up at his Gizoid; boxy and green, looking more distinctly machine-like than most Gizoids. "My Gizoid is called the Vector Prime."

**ベクタープライム  
Vector Prime**

Vector brought a fist to his chest. "It's an honor to meet you, Sonic."

Sonic pointed at Vector casually. "It's an honor to have you."

Next, he stopped in front of a simian Gizoid; predominantly black, with a yellow spot on its stomach, and red down its back. It held pistols in its . An armadillo matching its color scheme shook Sonic's hand.

"I'm Mighty," said the armadillo. He jerked a thumb at the simian Gizoid. "This is my Gizoid. I call it the Mighty Fists."

**マイティーフィスツ  
Mighty Fists **

"It's great to finally get to see you, Sonic. Did you really break Freedom's arms and legs off the first time you used it to defeat Gizoids?"

"Save the stories for the campfire, pal," said Sonic, moving on to the purple lizard-like Gizoid.

He raised an eyebrow; no one was standing near it. "Who pilots this thing?"

A purple chameleon appeared in front of Sonic, literally. "I do," he said quietly. "I am Espio, and my Gizoid's name is Espionaj."

**エスピオナッジ  
Espionaj**

Mighty cut in. "Together, me and Espio are the Chaotix Brothers. No one will stop us!"

Espio nodded quietly.

Next, Sonic met up with a dark-purple cat and a polar bear, both rather on the heavy side. They stood on either side of a large dark-green Gizoid. It actually had two heads - two of the heads they'd seen over the treetops were actually this one Gizoid - each of which served dual roles as epaulets, the Gizoid's arms emerging from each pair of jaws.

"My name is Big," said the large cat slowly. "I like fish and fishing..."

"I'm Bark," said the polar bear gruffly. "Me and Big have been saving each other's skin on the surface for years now. This is our Gizoid, the Double Bruiser."

**ダブルブルーザー  
Double Bruiser**

"It's great to meet you!" called out Big, attempting to throw his arms around Sonic. Sonic swiftly dodged, almost tripping over his own tattered red cape.

"Yeah, it's nice to meet you, too!" he said hastily, moving towards the bright-yellow Gizoid resembling an armored helmet, a sword strapped onto its back. A pair of wolves, a grey female, and a brown-and-grey male, stood before it.

"I'm Lupe," said the female wolf. "I didn't capture a Gizoid, but I'm a fair shake with maintenance. I could give your own mechanic a hand."

"Good to hear," said Sonic, facing the guy wolf now.

"My name is Lobo," the wolf man said, shaking Sonic's hand. "It was no cake-walk getting old O'Donnell here, but it'll be worth it in the end, you can be sure of that."

**オドネル  
O'Donnell**

"I bet it will," said Sonic.

He looked at the last Gizoid in the line. "Who painted the Eliastriker purple?"

"That's not the Eliastriker," said a female voice from beside it.

"S-Sal? When did you get the time to...?"

Sally shook her head. "I didn't catch this one. Elias did. He wanted to make sure I had my own Gizoid on hand in case something happens to Nicole." Sally patted her rifle affectionately. "Apparently, Eliastriker and Acorn Cannon were twin Gizoids piloted by twin Black Arms, and Elias had a real hassle getting them both." She clenched one of her fists. "I swear, Elias can be so reckless sometimes."

"'Acorn Cannon'?" Sonic asked.

Sally gazed up at her Gizoid. "That's what I decided to name her. She's the Acorn Cannon."

**エイコーンキャノン  
Acorn Cannon**

"Cool!" Sonic gave the thumbs-up.

Then he placed a hand on the top of Acorn Cannon's foot, flipping himself up onto it, his cape fluttering behind him.

"But now, I got an _announcement_ that I would like everyone to hear!"

Everyone dropped what they were doing and faced the leader of the Freedom Fighters.

"About that giant Gizoid that appeared this morning..." Sonic began, his arms folded, his expression serious. "We can be sure it will show up tomorrow..."

Then he grinned and put a fist in the air.

"Which is why I say we'll _steal_ that big-ass Gizoid from them!"

Mutters broke out; some excited, but most apprehensive.

"We're gonna help ourselves to it! And after tomorrow, it's gonna be our headquarters! Doesn't that sound cool?"

Cheers broke out.

"We got _this _far by stealing the enemy's Gizoids! There's nothing that can stand in our way!"

More cheers cut through the night air. Sally folded her arms, giving Sonic a serious look.

"But, how will we do that, Sonic?" Tails asked.

Sonic pointed at Tails.

"You see, Tails... That's why _you're _gonna do it!"

_それはお前がやるんだよ__!_

"You see, when Freedom and Emerl combine," Rotor explained to Tails and everyone else in the metal hut, "It's accomplished by Emerl taking control of Freedom's systems. That's the real power of Freedom Emerl. So theoretically, if Emerl combines with the Great MetaFlare, it will take over the enemy Gizoid's systems..."

Sally put a hand on Tails's shoulder. He turned to face her, but because he was sitting, and she was kneeling, he got a _very_ good look at her cleavage as she smiled at him.

"Don't worry, Tails," she said. "I know you can do this."

And she walked off.

Tails stared after her.

"Emerl's power depends on the mental energy of its pilot. Tails, depending on your spirit, it... Are you paying attention, Tails?"

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

"Elias!"

Elias's heart skipped a beat; _Meg was calling out to him!_

Meg stood before him, her hands folded behind her back. "Thank you for this afternoon. You really saved us there."

"I-it was nothing, M-M-Meg," he stuttered. "I j-just did what I was s-s-supposed to d-do..."

Meg giggled, and when she kissed Elias on the cheek, he could have melted.

Then she grabbed his hand. "Come on, let's have a drink! Knuckles has a great recipe for Gawain wine."

_燃えてばかりでいいのかい__?_

Sally found Sonic sitting atop Freedom's head, looking up at the Moon. He also had a perfect vantage point over the campsite of the Freedom Fighters.

"What a beautiful Moon," he said softly. "Just being able to see it makes me glad I came up to the surface."

Then he bowed his head, looking down over the camp.

"The Capital... where the Helix King is, it's gotta have a lot more Gizoids like the Great MetaFlare."

"More of them..." Sally's eyes wandered, numb to the thought of what that meant for their war on the surface.

"That's why we have to win," Sonic continued. "We have to keep taking their weapons from them. We gotta keep winning until they give up on the idea of attacking us." A shooting star whisked by in the sky. "And besides, I want to create a world where Tails and Pothead and Charmy and Cream can live under the sun without a care in the world."

"Sonic."

"What, Sal?"

"You are a lot smarter than I gave you credit for."

Sonic folded his arms. "Oh, come on! Who the hell do you think I am?"

Sally smiled. "Sonic The Hedgehog! The badass leader of the Freedom Fighters, that's who."

"You're wrong!"

Sally was caught flat-footed.

Sonic stood up again.

"I have another announcement for you all!"

The camp activity ceased immediately.

"As of right now, the Freedom Fighters are disbanded!"

Even the nightly noises of animals chirping and hooting and crying went silent.

"And in its place," Sonic shouted, pointing to the sky, "Everyone right here, right now, will become a part of... THE _GREAT_ FREEDOM FIGHTERS!"

Everyone cheered, a deafening chorus that sent flying raccoons taking to the sky.

"Even me?" asked a green mallard, poking his head from someone's luggage.

"Even you!" Sonic pointed dramatically at this newcomer.

"Yay!" the duck put a fist in the air. "I'm Bean, and I like to blow stuff up!"

Sonic smirked. "See that, Sal? Everyone under one banner against the Capital. Pretty cool, huh?"

Sally couldn't help but return that infectious but damnable smile.

Then she got to the business she was here for in the first place.

"Sonic, I would like it if you didn't do what you did this afternoon against the Great MetaFlare."

Sonic faced her, confusion evident on his face even through his shades.

"Until now, you always had a method to your madness," she continued. "You were reckless in fighting Gizoids, but I could always tell myself, 'If _anyone_ can do it, it's Sonic'. But this afternoon was different. Fighting the Great MetaFlare wasn't reckless or even crazy. It was just plain _stupid_! You just charged in there without a plan, and if Tails hadn't been there, you would have been killed!"

Sally didn't understand why her eyes were burning. She lowered her head, pretending to check her boots while really ensuring that she wasn't actually crying. Finally, she stood up.

"I... I guess I was scared for you," she finished.

Sonic gave her a more serious look than Sally remembered ever seeing. There was trepidation there, and... hope?

"Sonic..." Sally reached towards him.

Then a nearby mountain spewed fire.

The Great Freedom Fighters camp stopped all activity at the sight of the volcano erupting. Tails was especially dumbstruck.

Then he felt two small hands in his own.

On his left was Charmy, grinning widely. "Don't be scared, Tails!"

On his right was Cream, smiling sweetly. "If anyone can do it, it's you, Mr. Tails."

Reassured, Tails faced the fire-spitting mountain fearlessly. "Yeah, you're right."

Sally put a hand over her eyes, to better view the volcano. "That mountain's shooting out fire..."

"Yeah," said Sonic, a wide grin on his face. "That mountain is shooting out flames that are setting the earth ablaze... Talk about a showdown of a lifetime! Now I'm psyched! We're gonna rock and roll tomorrow!"

**つづく  
To be continued...**

* * *

次回予告  
Next Episode Preview

When it comes down to it, a man has to plan out his big move. That's what separates men from beasts! But still, courage and guts are the key to victory!

Next time on _Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl_: _**"Let's Do It To It!"**_


	12. Chapter 11

_(Chapter Eleven! Thus begins the true beginning of this tale. And so, this chapter's a little longer than usual. Think of it as a treat. Enjoy it! ...Or try to. ;_;)_

_

* * *

_

"This is the tale of a man who has yet to realize what his destiny is.

"Their old enemy Shadow reappeared in their lives.

"Amidst the suddenly intensifying battle, Sonic and Tails learned of the existence of the Helix King.

"In order to combat this as-yet-unseen foe, Sonic resolved to take the gigantic land battleship, the Great MetaFlare.

"Comrades gather.

"The stage for the final battle is set.

"And the man will realize what his destiny is."

**CHAPTER ELEVEN:  
Let's Do It To It!**

Tails could not sleep the night before the taking of the Great MetaFlare.

So much depended on him to get it right, but that was not what kept him up.

Thoughts of Sally, and what she meant to him, and what he thought he meant to her, could not escape him.

And so he laid in the cockpit of Emerl all night long, the Moon wheeling slowly by overhead.

A tapping against Emerl's canopy alerted him.

The canopy pulling back to reveal Sally alarmed him.

"S-Sally!" he cried out.

"So _this _is where you went," she said, smiling.

Tails bowed his head. "I couldn't sleep."

"Can't exactly say I'm surprised," she replied, leaning on the rim of Emerl. "This entire operation depends on you."

Tails shook his head slowly. "That's not what's bothering me..."

_Sally pulling his face into her breasts, to protect him from the third and fourth Gizoids he'd ever seen..._

_Sally pressing her breasts to the back of his head, for leverage as she fired at the Gizoid behind them..._

_Sally's cleavage presenting itself to him when he doubted himself as ARK brutalized Freedom..._

_Sally's midsection being revealed by Sonic pulling up that cloak she reluctantly wore in Galahad..._

_Sally saying, "Maybe even... the kind of man I could end up marrying..."_

_Sally's cleavage presenting itself to Tails as she said, "Don't worry, Tails. I know you can do this..."_

Tails could not meet Sally's eyes.

It was time.

"Sally... The thing is, I..."

And one of those fire-breathing mountains decided to roar at that moment, and Tails slammed his mouth shut in alarm.

Sally sensed his apprehension.

"Those are called volcanoes," she explained.

"Hmm?"

"Those fire-breathing mountains," she continued. "Molten rock is bubbling away inside of Möbius's crust, and comes shooting out of volcanoes from time to time. Rotor told me about it."

"They're a bit like Sonic, then, aren't they?"

"Huh?" Sally said.

"It boils away underneath until it can't be contained anymore, and then it all explodes. Sounds like him, doesn't it?"

Sally frowned a little.

"What is it?" Tails asked.

Sally strode away and gazed at the plumes of smoke emerging from the volcanoes nearby.

"Sonic said the exact same thing when I told him. 'That's just like me!', he said."

"Wow..." Tails looked down at Emerl's display.

"Here," said Sally, placing a steaming mug of coffee on Emerl's console. Tails picked it up, blowing off the steam.

"If you go into battle on an empty stomach, Emerl won't operate at full strength," she said.

Tails nodded, glancing at Sally, "Th-thanks."

He recalled one time when he and Sonic had gone all day without eating, sometime before they'd met Silver, Charmy and Cream. It was the day they'd perfected their combining technique beyond "stick Emerl in and hope for the best"; Emerl would leap over Freedom in a single bound and the two would combine with a shout of "BROTHERLY COMBINING! FREEDOM... EMERL!" Even so, Freedom Emerl nearly lost because of Sonic and Tails's hunger; the great Gizoid only just defeated the enemy. Then Sonic and Tails caught a slime-grape hippo and ate themselves sick.

Tails, in the now, was distracted by Sally, though. She seemed preoccupied about something, and it didn't help Tails's mindset out that she was leaning on Emerl again, her arms positioned in such a way as to push her breasts together.

Then she looked Tails in the eyes.

"Say, Tails..."

Tails blinked, wondering why his face was so hot all of a sudden. _Was Sally... going to tell him how she felt about him?_

They maintained that position for a good five seconds.

Then Sally shook her head, smiling.

"Nah, it's nothing," she said quickly, turning to leave. "Good luck, Tails."

Tails watched her walk off.

_She was gonna tell me what she said in the hot springs... I know it..._

Then Tails shook his head vigorously.

_No! The big battle is in a few hours. Don't think about that, Tails! Concentrate on fighting... and getting something in my stomach._

Tails took a sip of the coffee...

And burned his tongue and lips.

Kukku leapt into the air in alarm at Tails's yelp, his ball becoming an exclamation point.

_お前の__ＸＸＸ__で天を…_

"How is it?" asked Rotor, after Sally had checked all of Nicole's features, to ensure she was in tip-top shape for this big day.

She gave Rotor a quick flash of a smile. "Thanks, Rotor. I don't think I'll be missing with this."

"It's unusual for you to let someone else handle maintenance on your rifle," he said, typing away at the computer console he'd set up inside the metal hut for this day's big mission.

"It's because we can't afford to lose today," she said. "We have to get that thing, no matter what."

"I am curious, though. You'll be using the Acorn Cannon in this battle, I assume?"

"Of course."

"So why bring Nicole with you?"

"She's there in case Acorn Cannon gets too damaged to move in the battle. With Freedom and Emerl operating separately, the battle will be more difficult, even _with_ the Great MetaFlare grounded. We both know, Freedom and Emerl are less powerful working apart than together as Freedom Emerl."

"Their defensive power is greater when combined as well," Rotor said. "If Sonic just charges in like he usually does in Freedom _Emerl_, there's no telling _what _will happen."

"I'll be sure to keep him safe, though." She pulled Nicole over her shoulder. "I'm gonna go make sure he's not napping and get him _his _coffee." She shook her head, walking out of the metal hut. "I swear, he's such a pain sometimes."

Sally found Sonic outside the forest, on a plateau overlooking the dry earthen field, broken by a large crater which contained the largest Gizoid any of them had ever seen. Sonic had a plate of chili dogs beside him, and he was currently wolfing one down. No sooner did he swallow it than he began to choke.

"Here," she said, holding out a coffee mug. She gave him a weary smile. "What number was that one?"

Sonic held up all the fingers (and his thumb) on one hand, and the forefinger on the other.

"Don't you think that if you eat too much, that it'll slow you down?"

Sonic shrugged, then grabbed the coffee mug, gulped it down, and let out a large sigh as he'd chased the chili dog down with the coffee.

"Thanks, Sal," he said, facing the crater, away from Sally. "I need power. Especially today. Sal, watch my back in Acorn Cannon. I'll take out anything that comes at me from the front."

Silence fell.

"Sonic..."

He turned to face Sally...

And her lips touched his cheek.

After an eternal five seconds, she pulled back.

She was blushing.

"Sonic... your back... is a pretty big blind spot."

Sonic could only stare in comprehension at Sally.

"You...?"

Then, slowly, he embraced her, and his lips met hers.

Sally's arms reached and wrapped around Sonic's neck gently. For an eternity that lasted about nineteen seconds, only they existed in the entire universe.

Lips parted.

A smirk crossed one pair.

"Ten times over," the smirking lips said.

Sally looked into Sonic's green eyes. Did he...?

"When we get back from this battle, I'll pay that kiss back ten times over," he repeated seriously. "Mark my words."

Sally could only gaze in wonder at Sonic's declaration.

And when comprehension blasted through her swelling heart...

She laughed.

Sonic cocked an eyebrow. "What's with you all of a sudden?"

Sally smiled, blushing. "Don't you think you could phrase that a little more romantically?"

Sonic, not answering this, whipped out the tattered red cape that he had acquired from his father's burial site, and looped it around his neck. "Alright! Now, let's head out and raise a little hell!"

Sally just smiled at him. "Sonic... I'm looking forward to being repaid... ten times over."

"Sure thing, Sal!" Sonic said, sliding down an incline that led to another area of the forest.

Sally was bubbling inside. She had finally accepted the fact that she was in love with Sonic The Hedgehog, and acted on it, and it could only lead to good things for their rapport together. Some part of her had been saying that their getting together would lead to them looking out for each other more on the battlefield, and... well... now...

Sally hitched Nicole up her shoulder - she was slipping - and smiled after Sonic.

Behind her, in the bushes, Tails stared in abject horror at what he'd witnessed.

Sally heard rustling in the leaves behind her. Curious, she turned to look.

Nothing.

Sally put it down to a flying raccoon and never thought of it again.

_お前の__で天を…_

Tails ran as fast as he could to get away from what he had just born witness to.

"Oh, Tails," said Knuckles, who was walking that way with Elias. "Good luck toda-..."

Tails bolted past them both.

"What the hell?" Knuckles said.

"Must be nerves," said Elias.

"That kid's a _bundle _of nerves," Knuckles grumbled. "Seems like all he does is freak about one thing or another, and look up to Sonic to fix it for him."

"He'll grow out of it someday, I'm sure," Elias shrugged.

Tails's hasty run took him past Silver, who was watching over a resting Charmy and Cream.

Silver looked after Tails in concern. "Tails...?"

At Emerl, Kukku had nodded off again, snoring on the pilot's seat.

Then Tails plopped in.

Kukku woke up with a **!**, then a spiral, where his ball was.

Tails curled up, and tried to drive thoughts of Sally - kissing _Sonic!_ - out of his mind.

"It's none of my business! It's none of my business! It's none of my business! It's none of my business! It's none of my business! It's none of my business! It's none of my business! It's none of my business!" He clenched either side of his head, mashing his eyes shut. "What she does... _is none of my damn business!_"

A few seconds later, he felt someone tapping his side.

"Leave me alone right now, Kukku," Tails muttered.

"_Kukku_? Who the hell do you think I am?"

Tails's heart jumped.

Looking up, he saw...

Sonic!

Tails yelped in alarm. Sonic leapt back as if he'd been electrified.

"Wh-what's wrong?" Sonic asked, slightly alarmed himself.

"N-n-nothing," Tails replied shakily.

"You're worried?" Sonic said, a warm smile on his face. "I guess it's only natural, things being the way they are."

"Y-yeah," Tails replied. He _was_ worried, just not what Sonic _thought_ he was worried about.

Sonic pointed at the scrap of red cape tied around Tails's left forearm. "See that, Tails?"

Tails looked down at it. "Yeah. It came off your dad's cape when you took it for your adventure."

"And you know what it means, Tails?"

"What, Sonic?"

Sonic gave a thumbs-up and a quick wink. "It means that I'm always at your side, Tails." He nodded. "So don't worry. You can do it!" He began to turn away, waving for Tails to follow. "So, let's get out there, big guy!"

"Y-yeah," Tails said, inserting his Core Drill and manipulating Emerl to follow.

_ＢａｆＢａｆ__！そ__んなに燃えるのが…好きかい_

A chalkboard had been set up, showing a three-step presentation of the plan to take the Great MetaFlare. All of the Gizoid pilots - and Bean The Dynamite, the green mallard, for some reason - were present and accounted for.

"So, this is the plan we came up with!" said Sonic, explaining loudly to arouse excitement in the troops. "The Gizoid pilots will distract the normal-sized Gizoids. Then Emerl, piloted by my kid brother Tails, will seize control of that big-ass Gizoid from them. We then use the big-ass Gizoid to take out the small enemy Gizoids. At that point, the battle is ours! Everyone got it?"

"YEEEAAH!" Fists flew into the air.

"We got it!" Big cheered.

"We hit 'em and hit 'em hard!" barked Bark.

"Now, overnight, I wired up all of your Gizoids with interlinked and _open_ communications channels," said Rotor. "I'm not sure how much all of you are into talking while fighting, but if you want to live out this battle, you'll want to maintain communication."

"Y-yeah..." Less fists in the air, and even those ones were not very thrilled.

"We make contact, _then _we smash!" amended Bark.

"Alright, everyone! Let's rock and roll!" Sonic shouted. "Great Freedom Fighters, _move out!_"

"YEEEAAH!"

_ＢａｆＢａｆ__！そ__んなに燃えるのが…好きかい_

And so, the Great Freedom Fighters' Gizoid brigade began their mission to capture the Great MetaFlare and make it theirs.

"I'll leave the guarding of this place to you three!" said Knuckles, waving to Meg, Blaze and Marine from King Knuckles.

"Leave it to us, Knuckles!" shouted back Meg.

"You can do it!" returned Blaze.

"Give 'em a fair go!" cried Marine.

Then Marine pouted.

"What's wrong, Marine?" asked Meg.

"Sally gets to take on them Gizoid mates..." Then she spotted Espionaj. "And that chameleon's got a bloody seat on top of it."

"For snipers, I suppose," said Blaze.

"I'm going, too!" shouted Marine, leaping towards Espionaj.

"You don't have a Gizoid!" Meg said, pulling her back.

"It would be an honor to have a lady on board," said Espio from inside Espionaj. "But I will inform Knuckles that his youngest surrogate sister desires a Gizoid."

King Knuckles, already a fair distance away, turned and saluted Marine. "You bet I'll find one you'll like, Marine!"

Emerl passed by Silver, Charmy and Cream.

"TAILS, GOOD LUCK!" screamed Charmy at the top of his lungs.

"Good luck!" said Cream softly.

Silver and Tails exchanged nods.

Emerl caught up to Freedom, at the head of the group of Gizoids.

"This is awesome, huh, Tails?" Sonic said.

"Huh?"

"When the Freedom Fighters left Knothole Village, it was just you and me. And now, look at all these comrades we got to take on the Gizoids and Black Arms." Sonic reclined in his seat. "It's so cool!"

An image of Kukku appeared in the corner of Sonic's eye. "Chao!" he said angrily.

The image expanded, showing Tails. "Kukku says he was there, too."

Sonic chuckled. "Oh yeah. Sorry 'bout that. The Freedom Fighters were just a hedgehog, a fox, and a Chao."

Sally appeared in the corner of Sonic's other eye. He'd have to get used to that, Sally having her own Gizoid. "I was there, too, if you remember?"

"Huh?"

"I was with you two when you left your village."

"You were?"

"You don't remember?"

"Well... Either way, you weren't in the Freedom Fighters back then, Sal."

Inside the Acorn Cannon, Sally frowned.

"What are you saying?" she asked testily.

And the fellow Gizoid pilots laughed. Elias appeared in the corner of Sally's eye.

"We can hear every word, sis!" he said, chuckling.

Sally's heart was pounding, her face red. If she'd been more open towards Sonic during this little chat of theirs...

"All comm channels are open," explained a red 'SOUND ONLY' panel in Rotor's voice. "I just explained, remember?"

Knuckles smirked inside King Knuckles, "If we're this relaxed, we'll do fine. We can do this, right, Sonic?"

"You bet!" Sonic grinned, his face appearing on every Gizoid pilot's display. "Who the hell do you think I am?"

Inside Emerl, Tails's eyes were clenched shut.

_Keep everything else out of your mind, Tails_, he thought. _Just concentrate on getting that big Gizoid!_

But no matter how hard he tried _not _to think about Sonic & Sally kissing, the spiral-shaped meter never filled up to full...

The volcanoes rumbled ominously in the distance...

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

Silver bowed his head, thinking about how everyone else could do something, and he... well, he...

"What's wrong?"

Silver turned. It was Blaze.

He looked away again. "It's getting to me... Everyone's off to fight... And all I can do is stand here."

"Silver."

The white hedgehog turned; Blaze was smiling.

"You're so naïve," she said. "There are some things only _you_ can do. You don't have to pilot a Gizoid to be useful." She took his hand, and Silver blushed; what was this feeling? "So it's okay, as long as you do what you _can_ do the best you can."

"Like what?" Silver said. "I'd do anything to be useful!"

"I'm sure Rotor could use a hand monitoring the battle," Blaze said. "I'll look after Charmy and Cream."

"I'll go, too! I'll go, too!" cheered Charmy.

"It's alright, Charmy," said Silver, smiling at the fellow boy from Galahad Village. "I think me and Rotor can handle ourselves."

And Silver realized he was still holding Blaze's hand.

Blaze blushed and chuckled to herself a little.

Very red now, Silver let go sharply and, avoiding the Percival girl's eye, strode quickly to Rotor's metal hut.

Two minutes later, Silver was with Rotor in the metal hut, observing a computer screen Rotor had cobbled together from Gizoid computer screens after all of Freedom Emerl's scraps with enemy Gizoids.

"What's this?" asked Silver, indicating a screen showing a small figure in a large, headless figure, and a small figure inside a slightly larger, round figure. Various words and lines were moving about in bars below the two figures.

"It monitors the systems and vitals of Freedom and Emerl, and their pilots," replied Rotor. "Could you keep an eye on that?"

"Of course!" said Silver eagerly, watching the read-outs of Sonic and Tails's heartrates.

Silver narrowed his eyebrows.

_Is Tails alright? _he thought. _He seemed anxious about something this morning..._

_今は準備が必要なんだよ__!_

Mighty, having emerged from Mighty Fists, looked through his binoculars at the great Gizoid sunken below. There were several piles of dirt that had evidently fallen onto its deck overnight, and none of the lights were on. He lowered his binoculars and said, "Okay!" into a small microphone looped around his ears, then bolted for Mighty Fists.

As soon as he gave the all-clear from inside...

"LET'S GOOO~!" shouted Sonic from Freedom.

With a mighty cheer, the Great Freedom Fighters' Gizoid brigade charged.

And a pile of dirt threw itself aside as the Gizoids came into view of the Great MetaFlare's bridge. It was a large brown cloth, and beneath it were ARK-Cronus and several other enemy Gizoids.

"We were waiting!" shouted the ARK-Cronus in Shadow's voice. "We knew you would try to ambush us!" The enemy Gizoids opened fire, lasers opened up on the Great Freedom Fighters' Gizoid brigade.

"And _we_ were counting on _that_!" replied Sonic.

And large boulders crushed the two Gizoids flanking Shadow.

"Boulders?" Shadow said dumbly.

"Suck on _these_ balls, Black Arms bastards!" Sonic shouted.

"Barbaric Möbians! Can't you at least meet me fist to fist?"

"This rock _is_ my fist!"

ARK-Cronus sighted a boulder heading its way, and with a single, nonchalant slice of his crest-sword, cut it in half.

"A rock is a rock! It's not a fist!"

Sonic's face appeared in the corner of Shadow's eye. "What the hell's _that_? Stating the obvious is your idea of a defiant speech?" Sonic stuck his tongue out. "Dumbaaa~ass!"

"Are you mocking me?" asked Shadow hotly.

General Yellowzelkova appearing in Shadow's other eye. "Don't let it get to you, Shadow. It's not becoming to get upset over every little thing the inhabitants of this planet do. Their attacks won't so much as _dent_ the Great MetaFlare!"

And with that message, broadcast to every combatant on the battlefield, ally and enemy, now finished, Syne Yellowzelkova laughed.

"Try laughing _this _off, you blowhard!" shouted Elias, the Eliastriker firing off several shots at the Great MetaFlare's bridge, rocking the great Gizoid.

Yellowzelkova was livid. "How dare you, filthy Möbians! Great MetaFlare, activate!"

The Great MetaFlare's eyes and teeth lit up, and its limp arms became stiff with life.

"All batteries, aim off the port bow! Send those Möbians flying!"

Eliastriker retreated, and the cliffside it was standing on was gone mere moments later.

"Catapult Arms, stand by," said Yellowzelkova, the Great MetaFlare's arms grabbing hold of a Gizoid at a time.

"Throw!"

Two at a time, the Great MetaFlare tossed four Gizoids the way of the Great Freedom Fighters, for starters.

All four were blown to smithereens by the Acorn Cannon's fire.

"Not a chance!" snarled Sally from inside, her face deadset with determination.

The Great MetaFlare was tossing a fifth. But not a sixth. This was gonna be easy...

Until Sally's shot was immediately followed by a shout of "Protect Shade!" and the enemy Gizoid produced a shield from the plating on its left forearm, deflecting the energy of her blast.

Oh.

Sally had seen that before.

ARK-Cronus was tossed into the fray.

_燃えてばかりでいいのかい__?_

ARK-Cronus drew its crest-sword, making a beeline for Freedom, which only too gladly removed its shades to do battle as well.

Their blades clashed.

"Blue hedgehog, I will get my helmet back today!" Shadow said, his face appearing in Sonic's eye.

"You're _still_ whining about that?" Sonic replied, wearing a weary grin. "I never thought of you as stingy."

"I could say the same to you, blue hedgehog. I noticed your Gizoid is not yellow, but silver. Where is your head? Has your fox cub brother cowered out of the fight?"

And Sonic grinned.

And gave the cue.

"NOW! Get in there, Tails!"

And far from the battlefield, every run-of-the-mill Gizoid in the Great MetaFlare's arsenal occupied with the Great Freedom Fighters' Gizoids, the cliff wall beside the Great MetaFlare burst open, a small yellow Gizoid emerging from a drilled tunnel, a drill where its legs normally were.

"General! I'm picking up an enemy overhead!" said the Black Arms on reconnaisance duty on the Great MetaFlare's bridge.

"Shoot him down!" Yellowzelkova replied.

"We have a blind spot overhead, sir! Our flak curtain does not completely cover us!"

"Very well... I will try something using fighting spirit!" And Yellowzelkova's eyes and fists glowed a yellowish-green.

Sonic's grinning face appeared on the Great MetaFlare's main monitor.

"Sorry, pal, but _we_ have the edge in spirit! GET IN THERE, TAILS!"

And the air of the battlefield was split with Tails's cry of:

"EMERL IMPACT!"

And emerald light filled the bridge of Great MetaFlare as Emerl's drill plunged through the great Gizoid's observation tower, destroying it effortlessly, plunging into the Great MetaFlare's command center, General Yellowzelkova diving out of the way just in time to avoid having a large drill driven through his head.

"That was close!" Yellowzelkova breathed, going pale-green.

"General Yellowzelkova!" said the reconnaissance officer. "You're in danger here! You should find somewhere else to go!"

From outside, a green twister of energy emerged from the peak of the Great MetaFlare's torso, its eyes brimming over with emerald light. All batteries ceased fire, and the Catapult Arms stopped tossing Gizoids into the battle.

"What have you done?" asked Shadow, more than a little fearfully.

"We combined 'em!" Sonic replied, grinning widely. "We combined our Emerl with that behemoth of yours!"

"What?"

"That big-ass thing is _ours_ now!"

"Damn you, blue hedgehog!" snarled Shadow, trying to hide his abject terror with rage. "You _set us up_!"

Sonic dodged the incoming slice, as fast as lightning...

"Yeah, that I did!"

And returned it. Shadow barely avoided it.

"I put all of our luck, and our mettle, to the ultimate test!"

And Freedom began to push ARK-Cronus back. Shadow had to backwheel rapidly, because without ARK-Cronus's crest in place, he was directly exposed to the battle, and the blue hedgehog was attacking too quickly to give him an opportunity to return it.

"How did he get so good so quickly?" he asked aloud. This battle was quickly turning into a fiasco.

Perhaps the Helix King would execute him personally for this.

He shuddered at the thought.

A Gizoid emerged behind Freedom, raising a club and attempting to smash it...

But Acorn Cannon blasted it to scrap. Then blasted the scraps.

Sonic smirked at Sally's face in his right eye. "Not bad, Sal!"

"I gave you my word," Sally replied, a small smile on her face, a fire in her blue eyes. "I'm watching your back, so you can take on Shadow without worrying!"

"Those two are quite a match for each other, aren't they?" asked Espio, making Espionaj bound over an enemy Gizoid. It turned to follow him.

"Yeah, but they can't match the Chaotix Brothers!" said Mighty, as Mighty Fists's twin pistols blasted holes in the Gizoid Espio had distracted.

Elsewhere on the battlefield...

Knuckles had spotted a Gizoid that vaguely reminded him of people from Marine's village whom she had referred to as 'koalas'.

He figured she would like it.

So King Knuckles grabbed the Gizoid and pried open its jaws.

"Get out," he said simply to the Black Arms inside. "This is Great Freedom Fighters property now."

The Black Arms hopped out.

Knuckles savored his victory...

Then cannonfire from Great MetaFlare vaporized the Black Arms he'd just ousted, and sent King Knuckles and the newly-captured Gizoid flying.

"Hey! What the hell, Tails?" asked Knuckles.

Tails looked harried on his display.

"I'm sorry! I can't control it very well, for some reason!" he said, wiping sweat from his digging goggles.

_お前ら全員燃えてしまえっ！！！_

"Sounds like the combining isn't going smoothly," said Rotor nervously. "Tails can't completely synch up with the Great MetaFlare's systems, and it's firing wildly on friend and enemy alike."

"I wonder if Tails is worried about something...?" Silver asked.

Rotor did a double-take, looking at Silver. Silver pointed to Tails's read-outs. His mental patterns seemed to indicate agitation.

"You said that Emerl's systems depend on Tails's mental energy, right? He seemed anxious this morning, just before the meeting. I think Tails can't concentrate on just getting control of that thing."

_シン・イエローゼルコヴァ_

Syne Yellowzelkova strode angrily down a corridor he had seldom used before. But now, with the ownership of his Great MetaFlare in jeopardy, drastic measures were necessary.

The ex-reconnaissance officer caught up to Yellowzelkova.

"Can't you take back control of this thing?" he snarled.

"I'm terribly sorry, sir, but all systems are locked."

"As I thought. It's the work of that miniature Gizoid that they're using. I've seen it before. There's only one way I can take my Great MetaFlare back..."

At the end of the corridor, in the depths of the Great MetaFlare, Syne Yellowzelkova of the Four Helix Generals opened a dark door emblazoned with an impossibly large tree entangling its roots in a planet, and strode in.

"I will go tear him loose myself, in my Baihuu!"

Before him, towering into the darkness, holding a hammer half its size, was a bulky horned silhouette...

_歯ァっ食いしばれえええっ！！！_

Sonic didn't look happy, and that's why Tails was frantically shaking Emerl's controls, trying to force control of the Great MetaFlare into his hands, but Sally's lips pressed against Sonic's drove him to distraction.

"What's the matter, Tails? Why ain't it working?" Sonic shouted.

"I'm trying! I'm trying my best, but..."

_Sally kissed Sonic._

_Sonic._

_Not me._

"Why? WHY IS THAT KEEPING ME FROM CONCENTRATING? GODDAMN IT!"

Shadow smirked in Sonic's left eye. "You blew it in your endgame, blue hedgehog."

ARK-Cronus waved its hand to its Gizoid comrades. "Ignore the small fry!" Shadow ordered. "Everyone, return to the Great MetaFlare!"

And he leapt to join them...

And was pinned by Freedom's shades.

"You're not going anywhere!" Sonic shouted, spinning Freedom to face his comrades. "You guys keep those Gizoids pinned down! I'll see what I can do about Tails!"

"YEAH!" shouted his friends.

And so Freedom dove into the crater containing the Great MetaFlare, landing hard against its prow, pulling itself up rapidly, scrambling across the deck, leaping up the great Gizoid's face to the plateau on top of its torso, opening up its mouth to allow its spiny blue pilot to scramble across to the small yellow Gizoid impaled in the Great MetaFlare's head, Sonic rolling into a ball and bouncing over Emerl's crest, landing on top of the canopy with a

_THUMP_

Tails looked up in alarm, and saw Sonic plastered against Emerl's canopy, pulling his right arm back.

"Open the canopy, Tails!" Sonic shouted.

In his fright, Tails didn't need to be told twice.

Sonic curled up his right hand into a fist.

Tails's heart stopped.

"Now, _grit your TEETH!_"

And Sonic.

Punched.

Out.

Tails.

Who fell back into his seat, his left cheek bruised and swollen now.

"Sonic...?" Tails asked, tears stinging in his eyes.

Sonic only smirked.

"Have you snapped out of it?" he asked. "If you ever start to doubt yourself, I'll always be there to belt you one. So don't worry; I'm on your side, big guy!" Sonic pointed a thumb at himself. "You'll be able to get things done your own way; I know it. Just believe in yourself. Believe in the Tails that _I _believe in!" He pointed that thumb's hand's forefinger at Tails.

Tails stared at Sonic in fright and confusion. _He believes in me... But... He kissed Sally... And..._

_No. I won't think about that anymore. I _can't _think about Sally like that anymore. Sonic punched me for that._

_So, just believe in myself. I _will _believe in myself! Sonic believes in me! I'll believe in _that _me!_

"You got it!"

And, for the first time all day, Emerl's spiral meter maxed out.

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

As soon as they heard those three words from Tails, Tails's mental waves focused, and the graph showing the Great MetaFlare lit up brightly.

"Amazing...!" Silver breathed.

Rotor smiled widely, talking into his mic. "You're doing a great job, Tails! Keep it up! Just a little more, and the day is ours!"

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

Hearing Rotor's words, Sonic smirked at a plan that came together, and leapt into Freedom's cockpit again. Sonic took the controls, leaping Freedom down to the Great MetaFlare's deck.

He looked back up at the steady green gleam of the Great MetaFlare's eyes. He grinned, putting on his shades.

"See, you can really do it on your own, Tails." He turned Freedom around. "Okay now! Let's do it to-...!"

And in a flash of red and yellow light, everything changed.

A flash of red and yellow that could be seen from the peak of the Great MetaFlare, making Tails fearful...

And from the battlefield, making Sally glance at the source in denial...

The double-helix of red and yellow energies tore open a gash in the deck below Freedom, tearing straight through the Gizoid's face and out its top.

Inside, Sonic screamed in surprise and pain, his red shades shattering and his blood boiling at the energy that was _tearing through him_.

Freedom was carried up into the air on that spear of energy... And the resulting explosion nearly tore Freedom in half.

"SONIC! NO WAY!" Tails screamed.

"_SONIC!_" Sally shrieked through her comm channel.

A dreadful laugh echoed through the battlefield...

And a bulky yellow Gizoid with dark-green highlights, larger than any yet seen other than the Great MetaFlare, tore itself out of the hole blasted through the Great MetaFlare's deck. Strangely, it had no face on its chest - only a green orb - and the face on its head looked more a green visor above a grill than a face, a smaller green orb glinting over the visor. Large yellow horns jutted out to either side of its head. It wore a dark-green cape, and carried a large golden hammer which even now materialized a pair of golden axe blades over its dual hammer heads.

**シン・イエローゼルコヴァ専用カスタムギゾイド  
バイホゥウ  
Syne Yellowzelkova's Exclusive Use Custom Gizoid  
Baihuu**

"I will not surrender my Great MetaFlare to you so easily!" it snarled in Yellowzelkova's voice.

Sonic's heart pounded rapidly in Freedom. "Yellowzelkova? I forgo-..."

Freedom's shades smashed into its own Gizoid's back, knocking it aside. ARK-Cronus leapt in as the shades impaled in the deck.

"You forgot these," said Shadow savagely. "You can have them back."

"You son of a..."

Baihuu raised its golden hammer-axe.

"GOD AND DEVIL!" Another twin blast of yellow and red energy from the pike emerged from the tip of the hammer's handle, tearing Freedom's right leg off. The heroic Gizoid fell to its knee, Sonic gasping in shock and pain.

"You're a tenacious Möbian, I'll give you that," growled Yellowzelkova, inside Baihuu.

ARK-Cronus grabbed Freedom by the arm and - with a great heft that almost tore Freedom's left arm out of its socket - hurled the Gizoid into the air over the Great MetaFlare.

"But now..." snarled Yellowzelkova. "With this... IT'S OVER!"

Baihuu launched itself up and over Freedom, pointing the pike at the tip of his hammer down at Freedom, and dive-bombed.

"GOLDION... HAMMERRRRR!" Yellowzelkova roared.

The pike drove into Freedom's back, carrying it down to the surface of the crater, just beside the great Gizoid that Freedom's pilot had endeavored to make his own...

And when Freedom landed, the great weight of Baihuu's Goldion Hammer drove the pike through the armor and into the cockpit.

Sonic's horrible screams echoed loudly through the open comm channels to every Gizoid pilot amongst the Great Freedom Fighters.

The silence that followed was deafening.

Sally's heart broke in two. "It can't be..." she whispered, mortified.

Knuckles couldn't comprehend that this was happening.

Mighty and Espio were dumbfounded.

Big and Bark gaped in disbelief.

Lobo was speechless with shock.

_死_

Inside the metal hut, the readings of the vitals of Freedom's pilot went dark and silent.

Rotor and Silver went white.

"No..." they breathed.

**つづく  
To be continued...**

**

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次回予告  
Next Episode Preview

Listen, Tails. Never forget.

Believe in yourself.

Not in the you who believes in me.

Not in the me who believes in you.

Believe in the you...

Who believes in you!

Next time on _Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl_...


	13. Chapter 12

_(Chapter Twelve. Did you know that twelve is four times three? And that four is a bad luck number in Japan?_

_How about this? Lucus in the original Japanese version of Sonic X shares a voice actor with Kamina: Katsuyuki Konishi! Don't believe me? Check Sonic X's article on the Japanese Wikipedia!_

_Now, onto a story so evilly cut off last chapter...)_

Tails could not believe what had just happened. A huge yellow Gizoid had burst out of the Great MetaFlare's deck and, quick as a flash, smashed Freedom - and Sonic - into the crater.

And Sonic was not sending out any signals that he was unhurt.

Or alive.

Sonic could not be gone... He _had_ to still be alive...

_I need him to believe in me_, Tails thought.

"SONIC!" he cried, opening up a channel to Freedom.

Darkness.

And silence.

Tears spilled down Tails's cheeks.

His whole world shattered; without Sonic, he couldn't do anything.

Icy waves of despair swept over Tails and crushed his heart.

"SONIIIIC!"

And everything lit up in green.

_僕__はソニックにはなれない。_

Over the course of the battle, the volcanoes had been spewing black soot and smoke into the clouds, darkening the sky even before midday.

And then every window and portal and weapons battery on the Great MetaFlare blazed like a green sun, every Black Arms and Gizoid aboard being blasted out of the mammoth Gizoid.

Just when the Great Freedom Fighters began to realize that something horribly wrong was happening apart from Sonic's fall...

The entire Great MetaFlare lit up in green light, and every Gizoid, friend and foe, was blasted away.

Fissures of emerald light opened up along the dry, rocky landscape, reaching out to every mountain in the distance.

And every volcano exploded.

The Great MetaFlare, its green glow now sated, lurched out of its crater, dragging its feet through the cracked earth, in the direction of one of the volcanoes.

The green fissures erupted with magma. The green energy had torn all the way down Möbius's crust and into the mantle.

"Wh-what's going on?" said Yellowzelkova in Baihuu's cockpit; this was beyond what he could have though would have happened from putting down the leader of these Möbians.

Shadow's face appeared in his eye. He looked alarmed.

"General, look out!"

And ARK-Cronus pushed Baihuu over.

Yellowzelkova was livid.

"Shadow! What was that for?"

And Great MetaFlare's swinging arm knocked ARK-Cronus beyond the horizon.

"_Now_ where are you going, Shadow?" Yellowzelkova asked angrily.

_生きる_

Pain tore through his upper chest, as though someone had stuck a sword in there.

That wasn't too far from the truth.

The screens that weren't covered in blood were shattered from the impact by that old alien's giant axe-hammer, so he couldn't see who was talking. But he could guess.

"What the hell's going on?"

That was Knuckles.

"The Great MetaFlare has gone berserk!"

And _that_ was Rotor.

"If it keeps going, it'll fall into the volcano!"

Pothead.

"Tails, calm down! _Do you read me?_"

Rotor again.

"But... Sonic? What about _Sonic_? _SONIC!_"

Sal.

Green eyes opened, blinking away blood that threatened to cake them shut, gloved hands pulling their owner up from the pool of blood he'd been engulfed in.

"Can't a guy get any sleep around here?" he wheezed.

His hands were bloody. And blurry. Or were his eyes blurry, and made his hands look blurry? How much blood did he lose?

It didn't matter.

It was time to tidy things up.

_僕__には何もできない。_

King Knuckles, Eliastriker, and Acorn Cannon bolted after the Great MetaFlare as quickly as they could, but with the behemoth's greater stride, even dragging its heels as it was, it outpaced them greatly.

"_Tails, stop!_" shouted Elias into his channel to Emerl; Tails's head was bowed, his eyes hidden by his hair.

"TAILS!" screamed Sally from Acorn Cannon.

But Tails did not budge.

"It's hopeless..." he breathed, and neither Sally nor Elias - or anyone on the battlefield - had heard such despair before. "There's nothing... nothing... nothing I can do anymore."

And the Great MetaFlare kept moving towards the molten pit where it would meet its end in a few short seconds...

And then...

"Tails! Let's see you grit those _teeth!_"

Inside Emerl, Tails's face bolted up in joyous disbelief at _that voice_...

And saw Freedom's left fist flying towards him.

Emerl shook violently with the impact. Tails was bounced around the inside of Emerl's cockpit, landing on his seat upside-down.

The Great MetaFlare stopped in its tracks.

Through Great MetaFlare's systems, a channel opened up, showing...

Freedom, standing in the Great MetaFlare's path. Its right leg propped up under it as a makeshift crutch, its right arm clutching the stump of its left arm, the rest of which was laying next to Emerl, but it was still moving. And that meant one thing...

"Sonic! You're still alive!" A smile nearly split Tails's face in two.

Inside Acorn Cannon, Sally heard this exchange, and her heart sang.

"Sonic!" she cried, tears running down her cheeks.

Inside Emerl, Sonic's face appeared on Tails's interface; he had blood smeared across his face, and blood dribbled out of his mouth when he spoke, and his eyes had an odd green glint in them even though the lights in Freedom were now somewhat dim, but he was _alive_. Somehow, someway, he'd survived that crushing blow!

"Tails, who the hell do you think you are?"

Tails's heart was bouncing about in joy. He never thought he'd hear those words again.

Freedom pointed to the dark sky with its remaining hand.

"Aim for the top! Isn't your drill supposed to be the drill that's gonna pierce through the heavens and Möbius, to get through to tomorrow?"

Tails felt Sonic's faith in him pouring back into him like water into a pitcher, and his blue eyes sparkled with life again.

"What are you messing around for? We _won_, little bro! That big-ass robot belongs to you now! You don't have to worry about anything anymore!"

"Sonic...!" Tails said, still smiling widely. Then he pulled himself into the proper position to pilot Emerl - as in, not upside-down - and took the controls. "You got it!"

And the Great MetaFlare turned away from the volcano, faced the Great Freedom Fighters...

And struck a pose.

"Everyone, it's alright now!" Tails cried out in joy, using the Great MetaFlare's voice system. "This Great MetaFlare is ours now! Come aboard!"

_トップをねらえ__!_

Silver was beside himself with joy as well.

"Rotor, he's alive! We did it!"

He turned to Rotor...

Who was frowning darkly at the display of the pilots' vitals.

Specifically, Freedom's pilot.

Silver followed Rotor's gaze...

"What... what does this mean?" Silver asked.

Rotor shook his head solemnly.

_お前の__XXXで天を衝け__!_

A twin blast of red and yellow energy sent the Great Freedom Fighters' Gizoid brigade flying.

Baihuu tore past them, blasting at the Great MetaFlare with his God And Devil attack, a full dozen Gizoids backing him up.

"You damn Möbians!" Yellowzelkova roared. "That Great MetaFlare was given to me by the Helix King when he made me General! I would sooner _destroy _it than see it fall into your hands!"

Sonic looked weary on Tails's display.

"That old weed don't know when to give up, does he?" He offered Tails a weak smile. "Tails? C'mon. Let's finish 'em all at once."

"Huh?"

"Let's combine. The last thing these Black Arms will see is the might of Freedom Emerl!"

"You got it, Sonic!" Tails pulled Emerl free from the Great MetaFlare, grabbing Freedom's left arm beside him, leaping down to the deck and taking Freedom's shades from where they had landed after Shadow tossed them at Sonic, and hurled it at the two Gizoids which were leaping at Freedom, smashing them to scrap.

"LET'S GO!" Sonic shouted, as Emerl's drill pierced into Freedom.

Freedom's left arm and right leg repaired themselves instantly as they elongated from Freedom's silver limbs to Freedom Emerl's yellow ones, all of the egregious damage that the Gizoid had sustained in this battle repairing itself in a second.

"We're brawlers sustained by sheer willpower, even when others call us crazy and reckless!" Freedom shouted in Sonic's voice.

"If there's a wall in our way, we smash it down!" Emerl shouted in Tails's voice. "If there's no path to follow, we carve one with these hands!"

Freedom Emerl held up one hand. And caught its boomeranging shades...

"The magma of our souls burns with a mighty flame!"

And replaced them on its chest!

"EVERLASTING COMBINING! FREEDOM EMERL!" they shouted together.

"Just who...?" Tails said.

"The hell...?" Sonic added.

"DO YOU THINK WE ARE?" they yelled in unison.

And, in a bizarre moment of perfect timing, the volcano behind them exploded with a burst of magma.

The Great Freedom Fighters roared in triumph; their leader was back in full force, and no Gizoid or Black Arms could take him down.

Inside Acorn Cannon, Sally smiled. "There's no one else like them."

Baihuu pointed at Freedom Emerl, "Hold nothing back! Kill them dead!"

The Gizoids charged.

"YOU MOOKS BETTER CLEAR OUT!" Sonic roared.

And every joint on Freedom Emerl glowed green, as though a green sunlike being were concealed beneath the invincible Gizoid's armor...

And drills like needles lashed out at the enemy Gizoids from these glowing points. One even emerged from Emerl's 'third eye'.

The enemy Gizoids exploded, and the drills mostly retracted.

Freedom Emerl was prickly like a hedgehog now.

"Damn you..." snarled Yellowzelkova, bringing up the Goldion Hammer, pointing the pike at the tip at Freedom Emerl. "I will finish you myself, then! _God And Devil!_"

A double-helix of red and yellow energy blasts lanced out at Freedom Emerl.

"That better not be all you got!" Sonic yelled, and Freedom Emerl's fist caught the blast, dispersing it harmlessly.

Yellowzelkova was, for the first time in this battle, truly frightened. "I-impossible!"

Tails's smile had never left his face through all this; Sonic was still with him, and he could still go on with Sonic there to believe in him.

And then...

"Listen, Tails. Never forget," breathed Sonic, the light leaving his eyes. "Believe in yourself. Not in the you who believes in me. Not in the me who believes in you. Believe in the you... who believes in you!"

"Sonic...?" Tails wondered what was wrong with Sonic.

Then Sonic...

Ripped off Freedom's shades and...

"FINISHING MOOOVE!"

Hurled them at Baihuu, and somehow the giant pair of crimson shades became _two _pairs of shades, both of them tearing into Yellowzelkova's personal Gizoid, one of them tearing off Baihuu's right arm at the elbow, the bulky Gizoid's right forearm falling with the Goldion Hammer, the twin shades binding the Gizoid's limbs together, pinning it in midair...

Then the drills elongated themselves again as Freedom Emerl pointed to the heavens with its right hand as Sonic shouted...

"**Giga...!**"

The drills retracted into Freedom Emerl's body, a drill three times the size of the heroic Gizoid emerging from its right hand...

"**Drill...!**"

Then Freedom Emerl pointed the Giga Drill at Baihuu, and it began to spin so rapidly that the earth itself beneath Freedom Emerl's feet began to crumble, and green energy began to emit from Freedom Emerl's feet, launching at Baihuu...

"**DRIVER!**"

And the Giga Drill Driver drove into Baihuu's chest, obliterating the Helix General Gizoid's entire torso, and Helix General Syne Yellowzelkova along with it, as Freedom Emerl passed straight through it and looped around, landing exactly where it had taken off from, the Giga Drill dispersing itself into green energy which dissipated in the air as Baihuu vanished in a final, definite explosion, the twin sets of shades becoming one again and affixing themselves to Freedom's chest again...

Tails was smiling at the defeat of Yellowzelkova...

When four words shook him to the core.

"See ya, big guy..."

Tails's eyes darted to Emerl's channel towards Freedom.

The screen was pitch-black.

"What was that, Sonic?" Tails asked nervously.

...

...

...

"..._Sonic?_"

_ギガドリルドライバー_

The rain came in torrents just moments after the battle ended.

The Great MetaFlare was theirs.

But even so...

Even so...

Once all the Great Freedom Fighters' Gizoids had gotten up onto its deck to meet with Sonic and Tails, Freedom's mouth slowly opened...

Sonic's eyes were closed, blood coating his lower jaw. His last smile was still on his face. A gash from his left shoulder to his right leg had been torn open by Baihuu's Goldion Hammer.

The rain mingled with Sally's tears.

Tails threw himself to the deck, screaming at the top of his lungs.

Knuckles and Espio bowed their heads in sorrow. Vector, Big, and Bark's lower jaws gaped. Mighty and Lobo hid their faces against their forearms.

Rotor slouched in defeat. Silver embraced Blaze, who was sobbing. Meg tried to console Marine, Charmy and Cream, who were all howling with grief.

The vitals of Freedom's pilot were dark and silent, even through to the defeat of Syne Yellowzelkova.

The falling raindrops were like tears on Emerl's face.

...

That day...

Möbius lost something which could not be replaced.

**CHAPTER TWELVE:  
See Ya, Big Guy**

**

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次回予告  
Next Episode Preview

This is the tale of a man who continues to fight his destiny.

He lived a life of desire, loyalty, and extravagance.

He loved his companions, and he strove for freedom.

And then...

Suddenly...

He died.

But Tails is still alive.

He must go on living.

Next time on _Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl_...


	14. Chapter 13

_(Chapter Thirteen. That is an unlucky number, there._

_Who here who didn't watch the anime _Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann _was shocked by the last chapter? I'm sure some of you were._

_Anyway, on with the show...)_

ARK-Cronus, one of its legs limping badly as a result of that horrendous landing it took after the Great MetaFlare sent it flying, finally collapsed amongst the sooty mud.

Inside, Shadow was no less exhausted.

"Two days," he growled. "Two days of travel to get back here. No food, no rest... The Helix King will likely slay me on sight if I do not give a full report on what transpired here." He grabbed the controls. "Get up, ARK-Cronus. Get _up_!"

And then, as Shadow forced the controls as hard as he could, something bizarre happened.

Some of ARK-Cronus's cracked armor plating glowed a very faint green. It would have not been noticable at all had the sun not been completely blocked by the smoke of the volcanoes and the raining clouds. When the glow passed, the cracks had become shallower.

_What was that?_ Shadow thought. _Was that... fighting spirit? Like the blue hedgehog's?_

Shadow was suddenly re-energized.

_I have to find the General! The blue hedgehog is a crafty one; he could have survived that surprise attack. I have to..._

And ARK-Cronus stumbled upon a large golden hammer that, because of its master's loss, had no axe blades emerging from either hammer head, nor a large pike emerging from the handle. A robotic black hand attached to a yellow forearm held it in its last vice-grip.

Metal shrapnel littered the ground nearby.

"General..."

And Shadow realized.

Yellowzelkova was dead.

ARK-Cronus took Baihuu's severed arm and the Goldion Hammer - no small feat; the Goldion Hammer alone was weightier by far than Shadow's Gizoid - and changed course for the Royal Capital.

Had he looked not a hundred feet further in his previous course, he would have spotted a sheathed katana impaled into a mound of dirt, a tattered red cape tied to the handle...

_シャドウ_

Five days later, Shadow stood in a room which many a Black Arms had only dreamed of entering, if only because of some epic act of heroism in keeping a group of Möbians underground. However, the Helix King did not summon any Black Arms for congratulations; Shadow had destroyed countless surface villages in the past, had served honorably for nigh on fifty years now, and he had never so much as _seen_ the Helix King. And he did not stand in here because he had been particularly efficient in preventing this planet's inhabitants from coming to the surface.

He came to say that one of the original five who first secured this planet was killed in battle.

It had taken a fair bit of persuasion to allow his ARK-Cronus into the throne room in the state it was in, but when he presented the Goldion Hammer and Baihuu's severed forearm, the Helix King summoned him immediately, as well as the remaining three Helix Generals.

Even in his current state, even as he stood in fear of death at the hands of the Helix King himself, Shadow found the room he was in quite impressive. A large, circular room with a spiral pattern branching out from the center where it formed the edge of a spiralling dais leading up to a tall throne which featured a double-helical decal along the front and back. The Moon shone down overhead through a circular window from the room that was a tower in and of itself in the Royal Capital, and Shadow somehow felt like the Moon was _watching him_.

**王都グリーンゲート**  
**謁見の間  
Royal Capital of Greengate  
Audience Chamber**

And there, seated at his throne, was the Helix King himself. Draped around him were at least a half a dozen women of various different species, only a couple of whom looked like they were a genetic match for the Helix King. At least, they had flowers growing out of their heads. Every one of the women had a look of absolute pleasure on her face, as though anyone in the world would kill to be in her position: in the care of the supreme ruler of the world, a position that likely had enormous sexual benefits for themselves as well as the Helix King.

As for the Helix King himself, he was clearly a being from another world, as were the Four Helix Generals who were now reduced to three. The Helix King had dull-purple skin, dark-purple hair that went down to the middle of his back, dull-pink horns that resembled thorns emerging from either side of his head, and dark-green eyes. He wore nothing save for a black jacket with red trim, and he rested his tail lazily over one of his throne's armrests, leaning his head on his right fist as though he had better things to do with his time.

_**螺旋王**__**ルクス・ダークオーク  
Helix King Lucus Darkoak**_

And the Helix King, Lucus Darkoak, spoke:

"So, Syne is dead?" he said dully.

"Yes, sire," said Shadow. "He was slain battling a band of Möbians who came to the surface. They have also taken the Great MetaFlare."

One of the remaining Helix Generals spoke. He and the Helix King - and all of the Generals, for that matter - were of the same alien race. This one, who projected an aura of tremendous self-admiration, had yellow skin and pale-green hair, yellow thorn-horns, wearing only a green jacket with blue trim. His blue eyes were currently cast on Shadow with contempt.

**螺旋四天王のサラシン・ブラックナルキッソス  
Salasine Blacknarcissus of the Four Helix Generals**

"Yellowzelkova was a mental invalid, but still..." General Blacknarcissus muttered. "One of the original five dead is a grave matter, whatever way you slice it. And you were tasked with defending him, were you not, Black Arms?"

"I did my best, sir," Shadow said, trying to keep his temper around the Helix King and his Generals.

The next to speak was one who clearly had curried a lot of favor with the Helix King, as both remaining Generals turned to face him when he spoke, and even the Helix King sat a little more upright.

This General had very white skin and long dark-brown hair, pale-brown thorns on either side of his head, dark eyes, and he wore a yellow jacket with red trim. His arms were folded, and his tail resting on the floor.

**螺旋四天王のノニン・ペールベイリーフ  
Gnonine Pale-Bayleaf**** of the Four Helix Generals**

"Even so," said General Pale-Bayleaf, "Whether or not he was tasked with watching Yellowzelkova's back, the fact of the matter is is that there has arisen a force on Möbius which could threaten our goal here. Let it not be forgotten that even the smallest weed can threaten the garden if left in ignorance." He faced the Helix King. "I suggest that the remaining three Generals and their Meta-Gizoids mobilize and overwhelm this pitiful rebel band. They only have the Great MetaFlare, while we have the-..."

"No! _I_ must the one to take down the Möbians who killed Syne!" cried out the last of the Generals, drawing all attention (except for that of the Helix King's concubines) to him.

He had pale-brown skin with blood-red hair, dull-red thorns on his head, and bright green eyes. His jacket was purple with green trim, and his tail was thrashing this way and that.

**螺旋四天王のウンデニン・レッドパイン  
Undenine Redpine of the Four Helix Generals**

"Syne was always my strongest friend," General Redpine said impassionately. "I ask - no, I _beg_ - that you give me the opportunity to avenge his death, Helix King Darkoak!"

"Redpine, it is said that seeds of the same branch will be found in the same area," stated General Pale-Bayleaf. "Yellowzelkova favored brute force over strategy, and in all of our time as Helix Generals, you have never given me reason to suspect that you are different."

"Gnonine..." growled General Redpine.

"And, do not pretend this is just revenge for the death of a _friend_, Undenine," sneered General Blacknarcissus. "We all know that he wasn't enough of a man for you."

"Shut up, Salasine!" shouted General Redpine. "It was never like that. It just so happens that I saved his life before, and now with him dead, his debt to me is unpaid!"

"I... didn't know that..." Shadow muttered to himself.

Redpine heard him.

And forced him against ARK-Cronus's foot.

"And you were _there_!" Redpine growled. "You were there! You could have made sure that he lived!"

"I... tried, General," Shadow groaned, trying to look General Redpine in the eye, "But... the Great MetaFlare... flung me away... and... the blue hedgehog..."

"Blue hedgehog?" Redpine forced Shadow still further into ARK-Cronus's foot. "_What do you mean?_"

"A... blue... hedgehog... in a Gizoid... that he stole... the leader... of the resistance... most likely... _he_ killed... General... Yellowzelkova..."

Redpine glared at the hedgehog-shaped Black Arms for a few more seconds, before roughly shoving him out of his grasp.

"Go back to your den," General Redpine grumbled at Shadow.

Shadow propped himself up on ARK-Cronus's foot, maintaining a level stare at the Helix General who had just assaulted him.

"I repeat my plea, Helix King!" pleaded Redpine. "I wish to set out alone with my personal Gizoids and be given an opportunity to avenge Syne's death and let him rest in peace!"

"I hear your plea, Redpine," droned Helix King Darkoak, "And I approve. You will depart in twenty-four hours."

Redpine bowed deeply.

"Thank you, my friend," he stood up, smiling in a gratified manner. "I, Undenine Redpine, shall also give these Möbians a taste of the power of the Helix King!"

"General..."

General Redpine glared daggers at Shadow. "What, Black Arms?"

"Failing General Yellowzelkova was the greatest blunder of my life," he said, never breaking eye contact. Never do that when asking a favor of a superior. That was what he was taught. "That is why I ask you if-..."

_BAM_

Shadow wiped the blood away from his lip, looking up at General Redpine. "G-General?"

Redpine lifted Shadow up by the scruff of his chest, pulling a fist back.

"Go on," said Redpine savagely. "I'm listening."

Shadow hesitantly began, "When... you set out against-... _UGH!_ ...against the Mö-... _UGH!_ ...Möbian scum-... _UGH!_ ...let me-... _UGH!_ ...accompany-... _UGH!_ ...you-... _UGH!_"

And every time Shadow got so much as a word out, General Redpine punched him in the face. Shadow did not retaliate. Undenine Redpine was a superior, and Shadow still had some scraps of honor that he wanted to hold on to.

Finally, General Redpine threw Shadow to the ground again.

"You have no place in my vendetta, Black Arms," he rumbled. "I will avenge Syne _alone_."

With one last glare at Shadow, General Redpine pressed a hidden button on his jacket's sleeve and vanished in a burst of water which disappeared with him.

Generals Pale-Bayleaf and Blacknarcissus glared at the spot which General Redpine once occupied.

"You do not approve, Gnonine, Salasine?" asked the Helix King.

"Sire, I have made my apprehension quite clear to Undenine," General Pale-Bayleaf replied. "This is worse than we have ever seen in our time on this world. Seasonal change usually brings more Möbians to the surface, but this is potentially disastrous. It will require calm, swift planning to bring this rebellion to its knees, not rash, brutish action. You witnessed General Redpine's treatment of this Black Arms commander. It is despicable. It is my sincerest hope that he fails in his endeavor."

"I, naturally, concur with the wisest course of action," added General Blacknarcissus. "But this blue hedgehog that this Black Arms, Shadow, has mentioned concerns me... He is a clever fellow, is he not, Black Arms?" He looked on Shadow with disgust. Given Redpine's treatment, it wasn't surprising.

"Very, General," Shadow said, wiping blood from his lip. "He has a fox cub brother, whom he claims was the one who planned out the plan to pin the Great MetaFlare down the day before it was taken, but he is not worth worrying over. I can surmise, though, that somehow the blue hedgehog survived General Yellowzelkova's finishing move, and that he himself finished the General off. _He _is the hub of their resistance, which they call the 'Freedom Fighters'. Kill him, and the group flies apart."

General Blacknarcissus nodded, averting his eyes from Shadow quickly.

"Very well," muttered the Helix King. "Your opinions are very valid, and I too expect Undenine to find that the Möbians are a cleverer bunch than he surmises. Although his victory would not be frowned upon, a lesson needs to made to these Möbians: that disobedience will be met with harsh retribution. You are dismissed."

"Yes, sire," said General Blacknarcissus, as a twister appeared around him, and he vanished to somewhere else in the Capital.

"Come, Commander," said General Pale-Bayleaf, taking Shadow's arm firmly. "You need some rest. I will take you to your den."

And in a rocky tomb, General Pale-Bayleaf and Commander Shadow disappeared.

The Helix King and his concubines were alone.

Standing from his throne, leaving his concubines to their libidinous fantasies of him, he strode down the spiraling dais around his throne, standing where his three last friends stood, while one of them lost himself to rage on one of his finest soldiers. He looked up at the Black Arms Shadow's Gizoid, and at the arm of Syne's Gizoid Baihuu, and the Goldion Hammer still held in its grasp...

And, finally, Lucus Darkoak's gaze drifted up to the glowing disc in the night sky.

"They strive for the heavens, even though the only destiny awaiting them is death," he murmured. "It's enough to make me despair... at the nature of the natives of this planet Möbius."

_絶対的絶望_

A week since they had taken the Great MetaFlare, and the Gizoid attacks _still_ didn't let up.

Nor did the rain.

Not all of the enemy Gizoids that the Great MetaFlare held were destroyed on the day it was taken by the Freedom Fighters. Many of them had fled, and were now operating in guerilla warfare campaigns, day _and_ night, to attempt to take it back.

And this latest attack...

In all honesty, Knuckles never wanted to see the inside of Freedom's cockpit for the rest of his life, let alone riding in it, never mind actually _piloting_ the damned thing. He could not stop imagining Sonic's body, damn near cloven in two, up to his ankles in his own blood... Freedom's cockpit still carried the stench of death, Knuckles swore to himself. But this was a war, and Knuckles had to push his grief at his rival's death to the back of his mind.

Tails couldn't pilot Freedom Emerl alone, after all; Knuckles was practically unaffected by Sonic's death by comparison.

"Alright, let's go!" growled Knuckles eagerly. This was just a single Gizoid, so this would be an easy-...

"No," said the dark screen from Emerl's channel, reading "TAILS - SOUND ONLY". The voice was flat, and angry, and only the name on the screen let Knuckles know who it was.

"What?" Knuckles said numbly.

"I'll handle this," Tails droned.

And Knuckles ended up getting a ride in Freedom Emerl anyway.

Drills emerged in a flash of green light from every joint in Freedom Emerl's body.

The sole enemy Gizoid charged.

Freedom Emerl put its fists into either one of its eyes.

The Gizoid's mouth opened, and a Black Arms leapt out just as Freedom Emerl's drills vanished in a burst of green light...

And twin drills, each the size of Freedom Emerl, tore the Gizoid to pieces. Summarily, the Gizoid exploded.

The Black Arms cowered in fear, and tried to run.

Freedom Emerl picked it up.

"You aren't getting away," Emerl droned; if the Black Arms wasn't mistaken, this Gizoid could have been operating without a pilot.

Freedom's mouth moved in time to Knuckles's frantic tones, "Tails, this is taking it too far! He can't do anything! Don't-..."

_SQUISH_

The Black Arms's head fell into a deep, muddy pool.

Inside Emerl, Tails's face was still blank with shock, his eyes empty of life and hope.

The falling raindrops were still like tears on Emerl's face.

Behind the path the former Great MetaFlare had followed for a week, a trail of Gizoid shells and bloody Black Arms corpses led from the gravesite of a hero.

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

The Meta-Gizoid once known as the Great MetaFlare trudged through the mud. The Freedom Fighters' flag, which flew over the forest just over a week before when their Gizoid brigade arrived, now flew just behind the main engine, flapping feebly in the storm.

Inside the vessel, specifically inside its main kitchen, a pale-purple cat named Blaze, from Percival Village, and an orange raccoon named Marine, from Windmill Village, listlessly peeled potatoes for dinner.

"It's been seven days," Blaze said spiritlessly, "And it hasn't stopped raining since..."

"Ow!" Marine had cut one of her fingers. Again.

Blaze pulled out a band-aid from a small box she kept on hand in the kitchen now and applied it to Marine's hand. Marine had stopped wearing her gloves, for the ease of Blaze's inevitable bandaging of her cuts. In all the time that Blaze knew Marine, the raccoon girl got clumsy when she was down, and her hand now had at least nine bandages on it.

Marine offered Blaze a very weak smile - no one felt right smiling anymore - and went back to peeling her potato...

And quickly lost her spirit. She stared glumly at her hands in her lap.

"I still can't believe it..." Marine mumbled.

Blaze couldn't meet her surrogate sister's eye.

"Me, neither..." she said languidly. "It's like when we lost our villages..."

The Percival girl heard a sniffle.

Over at the door, Charmy and Cream had tears in their eyes as well.

She beckoned them over. Charmy and Cream dove into her arms, tears streaming out of their eyes.

"I miss him, too," Blaze said gently, tears of her own falling free.

"Why did Mr. Sonic have to go, Ms. Blaze?" Cream wailed.

"Nothing seems fun anymore!" cried Charmy.

"I feel the same, kids," Blaze told them. "I wish... he could come back, too."

_テイルス_

Not for the first time that week, the former Great MetaFlare ground to a halt, one of its feet sinking into the mud.

On the bridge, Chris, a human man from Acorn Village who accompanied Elias, called out, "What just happened?"

Bunnie looked up from the engine room read-out, "Looks lahk the en-jin just 'bout conked out on uhs, Elahh-iss."

Elias sighed, turning to Rotor. "Rotor?"

"Gotcha. Engine room."

They entered the elevator to the Gizoid hangar, to reach the elevator that led to the engine room.

And the Super Marine - the koala-like Gizoid that Knuckles had stolen for Marine - flew against the wall opposite them. Eliastriker faced it.

Super Marine's mouth opened, and Meg staggered out, rubbing her head. "Oww..."

Eliastriker's mouth opened, and Silver jumped out. "Are you alright, Ms. Meg?"

Meg waved a hand casually. "I'm fine. But that was a good hit there, Silver."

"I'm sorry. I don't want to be useless around here, but I can't seem to get the hang of power distribution."

Elias and Rotor stepped into the conversation. "Well, that _was _a good hit, Silver," said Rotor.

"Mr. Elias. Mr. Rotor," Silver seemed only mildly surprised to see them. "Are you going down the engine room again?"

"I didn't even notice we stopped," Meg said, looking around.

"She's a temperamental one, this Great Freedom," Elias said.

"'Great Freedom', huh?" Rotor asked.

"Sally insisted we give it that name," Elias said lowly. "And I gotta say, it's kinda fitting. It's got enough living quarters to house a team ten times the size of the Great Freedom Fighters, it's got a workshop to repair the Gizoids - even _Freedom_ is as good as new after that pounding it took last week - it's even got the ability to repair itself a few days after it's been damaged..."

"Now, if we can do something about the unstable engine output..." Rotor added.

Elias shrugged, "Well, we'll work that out eventually, but right now, I can safely say that this is an awesome vessel."

Then shouts came drifting back from the corridor.

"Grow up, Tails! If you're gonna be upset, at least don't get all mopey around other people!" came Knuckles's gruff tones.

Rotor looked into the corridor sadly, "It seems the only thing the Great Freedom _can't_ fix is a broken heart."

_モグラはモグラのままなのか__?_

"...And besides, you're not the _only_ one in Freedom Emerl!" Knuckles shouted at Tails. "Piloting Freedom Emerl is all about teamwork, not taking control for yourself and killing helpless creatures!"

Tails refused to look at Knuckles. "It's not like anyone asked you to pilot Freedom," he said bitterly. "It's not like anyone asked _anyone _to pilot Freedom."

Knuckles raised an eyebrow. "So, you're saying that you do this alone." It wasn't a question.

Tails looked up at Knuckles; there was no light in his eyes, and his cheeks were hollow with malnutrition. "Yeah. That would be better. Piloting alone."

Knuckles grit his teeth. "Don't get all high and mighty just because we got this big-ass Gizoid, you little two-tailed brat!" He grabbed Tails by the collar of his jacket and lifted him into the air. "'Cause if you'd held your act together, Sonic wouldn't be _dead _right now!"

Tails's eyes widened and his jaw went slack.

"That's enough, Knuckles!"

Meg had her arms on her hips, and Elias, Rotor, and Silver were all behind her, all giving Knuckles looks of disapproval.

Knuckles brought Tails to the ground, facing away from the scene, his head bowed.

"I'm sorry about that, Tails. Knuckles is hurt more by this than he's letting on," Meg said.

"No, I'm not!" said Knuckles, his voice wavering.

"You don't have to apologize. What Knuckles said is true," Tails said, his head down, hands in his pockets, walking slowly past Meg. "I killed Sonic." At this statement, everyone gave Tails a significant, even alarmed look. "So I'll get tougher. I _have _to. I'll become like Sonic and pull his weight for him."

Then Tails stopped in front of Silver.

And fixed him with a glare.

"Silver, why didn't that god of yours save my big brother?" Then a mad grin came over Tails's face. "Oh, I forgot! The god _you_ pray to is a _Gizoid_! No wonder Sonic died! I mean, after all, it was a _god_ that killed him! So the gods should be the _next_ ones to die!"

"Tails," Elias said firmly, putting a hand on Tails's shoulder. Tails was upset, but lashing out at people who meant him no ill will was no way to cope.

"I'm sorry. That was uncalled for," Tails said, shuffling away like his limbs were made of lead. "All I do is let people down. I'll be in my room."

Elias stared after Tails with a sad look. He didn't mean to drive Tails deeper into despair, but things were sullen enough on the Great Freedom as it was without Tails snapping at everyone.

_I'm sorry, Tails, but this is a war, and you gotta expect people to die_, he thought. _Sonic was a great guy, but... when you go on the battlefield, you're intrinsically putting your life on the line._

Meanwhile...

Tails had reached his room. He had not brought any lights into the room, and it was only because each room had a bed in it already that he had one. He would have been fine sleeping on the floor; it wouldn't be any different than back in Knothole Village.

Everyone thought he was a freak back there, too.

Except Kukku and Sonic.

But Kukku was a Chao, and didn't know any better.

And Sonic...

Knuckles was right; he'd killed Sonic. Tails didn't drive the Goldion Hammer into his big brother, but he did fixate on Sally kissing him when he should have been concentrating on taking control of the Great MetaFlare.

And then, when Sonic leapt in to snap Tails out of it...

Tails had inherited Sonic's wish: to destroy the Black Arms.

And Tails wouldn't eat or sleep until he'd destroyed them all, or until...

Until...

Kukku looked up from Tails's bed, looking worried at Tails's condition.

Tails just fell onto his bed.

"I'm sorry, Kukku... I'm just so... tired."

And the last word Tails said before he passed out from exhaustion was, "Sonic..."

_お前の__XXX__で…_

"It's gotta be Knuckles or nobody," Vector grumbled, leaning back in the dining hall.

"He is the only one who is really qualified to lead the group," Espio said, nodding in agreement.

"We shouldn't depend on Tails to lead us, even if he _was _taken in by Sonic," Mighty added. "All he's doing is moping around."

"Just because he can pilot Emerl doesn't mean he should be the leader," said Espio, looking their way.

Vector put out his cigarette, "If a blue kid like _that_ is made leader, the Freedom Fighters are history."

_SLAM_

That squirrel girl that Sonic had picked up slammed a tray full of food on the table.

"The _Great_ Freedom Fighters!" she said hotly. Then she gave them a withering glare. "You were there when he said it, weren't you? Or did you forget it because he's..." She closed her eyes for a second, then resumed her glare. "It's not the Freedom Fighters, you idiots. It's the _Great_! Freedom! Fighters!"

Vector, Mighty, and Espio gave her mingled looks of alarm and annoyance.

"Of course we were there, _miss_," snapped Vector.

"We just forgot," said Mighty simply.

"We apologize most sincerely," added Espio.

But as they wandered off, Sally heard Vector saying something about a 'stuck-up bitch'.

She ignored it.

She had enough enemies.

"Don't eat yourself sick, Sal," said Elias ruefully, sitting down with a much more modest meal.

Sally kept shoveling food into her mouth. "I have to keep my energy up. Otherwise, I won't fire straight with Nicole, or pilot Acorn Cannon at full power." Then she shoveled a large spoonful of mashed potatoes into her mouth. "I mean, the Four Helix Generals, and the Helix King in the Capital... We still have a lot of enemies. The war goes on."

"That's true," Elias said, looking down at his drumstick. He felt picky eating that when Sally was practically eating enough for two.

He looked out the window next to the table. "The war continues, and so does the rain..."

"Even in the rain, I can have a hot meal right after target practice. A week ago, I wouldn't have dared to imagine it." Sally stopped eating, staring at her plate. "...And it's all thanks to _him_."

Elias didn't know what to say. But still...

"About Tails..." he said.

Sally froze midway through raising her spoon of potatoes and gravy.

"I think Tails is really getting worn down," he said.

"Oh. I see."

"He hasn't eaten a thing in days, and I don't think he's sleeping either. He spends hours in his room spinning that digging drill of his. He just told Silver that he's gonna kill his gods. Aren't you worried about him? Maybe you could try talking to him..."

Sally did not speak for a while. Then...

"Johnny. Cat. Hamlin. Dylan."

Each name brought back painful memories to Elias.

"We sure lost a lot of friends protecting Acorn Village, didn't we?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Sacrifices must be made for the living to live. And the people who live have to work hard to make sure their deaths weren't in vain. I've always accepted that as a part of our way of life. But... now... I don't know if I..."

Sally forced a smile. It looked difficult.

"I'm sorry. It's tough enough trying to keep _myself_ together."

_サリー・エイコーン_

The water from the shower mingled with Sally's tears. She pounded her fists futily against the wall.

"You said you'd pay back that kiss ten times over," she sobbed. "Why did you have to leave me with a hole in my heart that's ten times bigger?

"Sonic, you idiot..."

_お前ら全員燃えてしまえっ！！！_

The next day...

On Great Freedom's bridge, Blaze had taken radar duties, seeing if there were any enemy Gizoids approaching.

It was dark as night out, but the radar's clock said that it was only 1:30 in the afternoon.

Then a bunch of red blips appeared in the north-west.

"Enemy Gizoids have been detected!" she called out. "They're approaching from the starboard bow!"

"Again?" muttered Rotor wearily.

Down in the Great Freedom Gizoid hangar...

"Tails?" Rotor's voice asked over the PA system.

"I'm gonna combine Emerl with Freedom and head out," Tails said simply, as though it was a given. "I'll be fine on my own."

"I'll pilot Freedom!" said Silver, clamboring into the Gizoid's mouth.

"We're counting on you, Silver!" said Rotor's voice.

"So, _you're_ gonna pilot it this time, Silver?" Tails said, and Silver was given pause by the resentment in that statement.

"I've been training," Silver said defensively. "I mean, you can't do this by yourself, right?"

Tails glared at Silver for a long moment.

And finally averted his eyes, but Silver felt worse because of it; it was as though Tails didn't want to waste his contempt on him.

"Fine..." Tails muttered bitterly.

_暴走_

The Gizoids trudged through the mud, to reclaim their Great MetaFlare and avenge General Yellowzelkova...

When a piercing shriek split the air.

Looking up, they saw the infamous Freedom Emerl descending on them, engulfed in demonic green flames.

The Gizoids went flying when Freedom Emerl impacted.

Even before they could recover, whoever was piloting Freedom Emerl who had screamed on the way down kept at it, producing drills from its fists and driving them each into a Gizoid.

"Tails, this is overkill!" Silver called out to Tails.

"He who strikes first wins!" Tails shouted back, an insane determination in his eyes. "It's what Sonic would have done!"

Green energy began to pour from Freedom Emerl's neck.

Emergency read-outs appeared on Freedom's computer screens; from what Silver had seen from recordings of the energy read-outs when Freedom and Emerl combined, energy flowed in from Emerl and filled every sector of Freedom evenly. But according to these read-outs, with the energy randomly flowing in and out of each sector...

"The energy output is unstable!" he cried, attempting to hail Great Freedom.

Nothing.

Tails had blocked the channel.

Panic overtook Silver. He was with a young boy who'd lost his older brother and seemed to not care at all if he lived or died in battle.

Freedom Emerl was currently stomping in the face of a Gizoid that had dared trying to run. Eventually, his foot went straight through the cockpit, but Tails kept stomping.

And Silver caught wind of every one of Tails's words, uttered with each stomp.

"Fucker! Fucker! Fucker! Fucker! _Fucker! Fucker! Fuck-...!_"

And enemy Gizoids fired on Freedom Emerl from behind.

Silver cried out in shock.

"Don't lose it!" Tails screamed, sounding like he was failing at his own logic. "Sonic never screamed, _not once!_"

And Freedom Emerl took off on all fours towards the Gizoids who were firing at it.

"Tails, slow down!" Silver cried out desperately. "If you don't stop, _you're_ gonna be the next one to die!"

In his left eye, Tails's eyes were bugging out of his head, his teeth grit together in determination.

"Sonic would never run away!" Tails yelled hoarsely. "Not _Sonic! Not EVEEER!_"

And Freedom Emerl descended on the Gizoids who were firing on it, green energy erupting from the crater formed on its landing.

Only one Gizoid was left now.

Inside Emerl, Tails screamed at the top of his lungs, lunging with Emerl's controls.

Nothing happened.

And Freedom Emerl froze.

On Silver's monitor, energy was building up in Emerl's drill.

And in Emerl, Tails vomited.

Emerald energy poured out of all of Freedom Emerl's joints.

"Freedom Emerl is rejecting the energy output?" Silver asked.

Then Emerl's drill pulled away from behind his head.

"The drill!" he shouted.

And Emerl separated from Freedom, Freedom reverting to its original silver color scheme, green energy continuing to pour from Emerl's joints as it tore off across the muddy landscape, leaping off a cliff into a misty valley.

"Come back here, damn you!" called out the sole remaining Gizoid, a shark-like mecha, leaping down after Tails and Emerl.

Silver was stunned.

Did Tails just...?

No. He wasn't controlling Emerl in the end. Emerl was...

But... That Gizoid that followed it...

Acorn Cannon and King Knuckles ran up to him.

"Are you okay, Silver?" Sally asked.

"What the hell was _that_, Silver?" asked Knuckles.

"Well, Emerl disconnected..." Silver said, pulling Freedom up and looking down into the misty valley.

"And he fell down this cliff?" Sally asked worriedly.

"He abandoned you in the face of the enemy?" Knuckles asked.

"It looked... more like Emerl had gone berserk," Silver told him.

"Berserk? You think so?"

"Yeah. Most likely."

_I _should_ have tried talking to him_, Sally thought morosely. _Now he could be..._

"Tails..." Sally muttered.

**つづく  
To be continued...**

* * *

次回予告  
Next Episode Preview

Dark, sunken eyes...

Feelings which cannot be suppressed...

This wetness striking my cheek...

Is it...

Rain?

Next time on _Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl_: _**"What, Exactly, Is A Person?"**_


	15. Chapter 14

_(Chapter Fourteen. Will things look up for Tails anytime soon? We'll soon find out!_

_Also, no spoilers in the comments WHATSOEVER. There are people reading this who haven't seen the anime (I think), and I would appreciate it if they could look in the comments without fear of the story being spoiled for them._

_Thank you, and we now return to our story! Look for the reference to the anime's theme song!)_

"This is the tale of a man who continues to fight his destiny.

"Tails fights viciously and ruthlessly, trying to distract himself from the hard blow of Sonic's death.

"In the chaos of the battle, Emerl goes berserk, pulling free from Freedom.

"Moving on its own, Emerl leaps into a misty valley.

"And at the bottom...

"The man will find his destiny."

_ヒトっていったい何ですか__?_

Tails's eyes blinked open, and he was surrounded by mist. He was lying in something cold and wet and squishy.

_Did I die? _he thought. He sat up, wiping the mess from his mouth from when he'd pushed himself too far in Emerl.

For several minutes, the two-tailed fox boy sat there in the cold, relentless rain.

_I don't think I died_, he thought, looking around. _I don't see anyone else. If I died... I would be with Sonic..._

Eventually, being alive, Tails felt that he would need to get to Emerl eventually; Emerl was the only way to get back at those monsters who...

There it was.

Tails slid through the muddy earth to the Gizoid he'd dug up from the dirt, which had fallen on its side when it had leapt into the ravine. Tails could only assume he cracked his head when he landed, or he would not have had to wake up from unconsciousness.

"But... why did the controls stop working?" he asked himself, pushing Emerl upright. Slowly, he clambored into the pilot's seat, inserting the Core Drill and forcibly growling, "Spin Start!"

The spiral-shaped power meter glimmered, and Emerl hummed to life.

"It worked," Tails said. _Thank you for small blessings_, he thought. _Those are the only ones I get._

And Emerl trudged up the mound of earth it had fallen besides not too long ago.

With the falling rain, and the mist that seemed to appear in the valley in this rain, Tails realized that the mound was higher than he'd initially thought.

When he reached the top, the sight before him startled him.

Dozens - maybe hundreds - of metal boxes, each slightly smaller than Emerl, littered the valley bottom, disappearing into the mist in either direction. Most of them were weathered with age, some of them so rusted that no trace of white metal was visible.

But all of them had hinges. And all of them were shut tightly.

Tails, still so shellshocked by the loss of Sonic, was absorbed in this sight.

His sensitive fox ears picked up a sound apart from the rain falling.

He looked up.

On the valley edge above him, a Gizoid - it had to be one; its silhouette was too clunky - threw out its arms and tossed a box into the valley. It was identical to the ones Tails had seen in every direction.

It bumped along the canyon wall, and slid to a stop less than a hundred feet from Tails.

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN:  
What, Exactly, Is A Person?**

Tails stared at the box for a long time.

It couldn't be dangerous, Tails thought. All the other boxes were intact, if much older, so nothing potentially deadly could be inside.

And if there was...

Tails would just see Sonic again a lot sooner.

He slowly pulled himself out of Emerl, slowly walking through the soggy dirt to the metal box. He reached out and touched it.

It was warm.

And, just below the seam marking the spot where the box opened, was a gray latch, which bore in its center a small indentation.

Which was shaped identically to Emerl's activation slot.

And it pulsed green when Tails got near to it.

He knew what to do.

Automatically, as though it were the only natural thing to do, Tails strode back to Emerl and removed the Core Drill, Emerl going limp as Tails did so.

Taking slow steps towards the white metallic box, Tails slowly, determinately inserted the Core Drill.

And twisted.

The latch unbolted, and the box opened up on its hinge, white smoke and light pouring out.

Tails shielded his eyes in case the smoke was dangerous, but it dissipated after a few moments. His eyes still adjusting to the sudden flood of bright light, Tails looked into the box.

It was...

It was a _girl_.

But it was unlike any girl Tails had ever seen. She had no nose (or ears, it looked like), but her hair was the exact same shade of green as grass, with the buds of roses on either side of her head. She was in a green dress which bore a red gem in the center, with a white skirt shaped like a flower's pedal. Her feet were bare.

As the raindrops struck the plant girl's cheek, Tails wondered if the girl was...

No, she was breathing.

And her eyes were opening.

Blue...

Bright-blue...

_Sky-colored_ eyes.

She looked momentarily confused (and sleepy), then she sat up slowly, resting her hands on either side of the box, giving Tails a slightly dazed stare.

Then...

The plant girl...

Smiled, and it was the warmest smile Tails had ever seen.

"Good day to you," she said softly, like a whisp of wind.

"G-g-good day...?" Tails stammered.

"What is your name, kind sir?" the girl asked.

"'K-kind sir'?" Tails waved his hands frantically. "I'm not anyone worth being called 'kind sir'."

But before Tails had even finished, the plant girl's expression brightened, and she looked about eagerly. She was particularly pretty now, looking so happy-...

Tails kicked himself inside. What was _wrong_ with him?

"This is the outside?" asked the girl brightly, reaching up with her hands. "So _this _is rain!"

"Y-yeah...?"

Tails had no idea how to deal with a girl like this, who seemed to not know what life was like outside.

The girl stood up - she was rather petite - and leapt down out of the box; she was a half a head shorter than Tails.

"What is this?" she said, her toes kneading the mud at her feet.

"It's... mud," Tails said simply, wondering if, as a _plant _girl, she could draw nutrients from the soil.

"It's cold and wet and squishy..." the girl said, smiling. "It feels wonderful!"

"It... does?" Tails had never squashed around his feet in the mud (partly because anthros like himself, Sonic, and Sally simply didn't _have_ toes), but his impression became even stronger now that plant-people like this girl could draw nutrients from earth, which was probably why this girl liked it so much and _now her hands were on either side of his face and she was gazing at him in wonder... close enough to kiss him_.

Her hands felt _so good there_...

"Your fur is so soft," she said.

What was he supposed to say to that?

She continued, "You have blue eyes and you do not have feathers or scales. You are so much like me."

"O-of course; it's because I'm a person," he replied. This girl was either really out of it, or she was really sheltered.

"A... 'person'?" the girl asked, clearly confused, stepping back. "And... what, exactly, is a person?"

"W-well..." _How are you supposed to explain _that_ to someone?_ "Y-you see, a person is like... you and me."

"Really? There are more wonderful people like _you_?"

"H-how can you think I'm wonderful? We've just met."

"You let me out of this box."

"I didn't know you were in it."

"You could have ignored it."

"I... suppose..."

"There are... there are more people like you, right?"

"Y-yeah. Lots more."

"_Many_ more? And they're all like you?" The girl looked slightly worried suddenly. "Do they all have the same face?"

Tails shook his head vigorously, a small laugh escaping in spite of himself. Suddenly, he realized he was smiling. "No, no, no. It would be creepy if everyone had the same face."

The girl sighed slightly, a beam of light shining down on her. "That is a relief. It struck me as wrong that no one person would have their own personhood."

"'P-personhood'? Is that even a word?"

The girl looked up, smiling. "Oh, look! The rain stopped."

"It did?"

The girl was right. Ever since he'd unsealed the box she was in, the sky had been getting gradually brighter, the fall of rain had gotten steadily less to the point of nothing, and now, blue sky shown down on the now mistless valley. In that entire week of rain, Tails had quite forgotten that it was _daytime_ when the last Gizoid attack came.

"I wonder why I am outside?" the girl pondered aloud.

"I don't know," Tails said.

He shook his head slightly. _Snap out of it, Tails!_

"I gotta get you out of here," he said, pulling off his red-white high-tops. "Here. Put these on. Your feet are probably cold."

The girl stared down at the shoes. "The mud is quite nutritious here, but..." She smiled at him. "If you are so kind as to lend me those shoes to me, I will gladly use them." She took them in her hands, hopped up onto the edge of the box, and pulled them on.

She smiled at Tails. "I never introduced myself, did I? My name is Cosmo. And your name is...?"

"My name...?" Tails's face was burning, and he didn't know why. "It's... well, back home, my parents named me Miles Prower, but... everyone I know calls me Tails."

"Tails..." Cosmo smiled. "That's a nice name."

"Th-thank you."

Cosmo stared at Tails's feet.

"What is it?"

"Your toes... What happened to them?" She asked fearfully.

"What?" Tails held up a bare foot and flexed it. "Me and others like me don't _have_ toes. I don't know why, but... the humans have them."

"What, exactly, is a human?"

Tails gave her a slightly weary smile. "Maybe we should wait till we get back to answer your questions."

Cosmo looked suddenly fearful, pointing past Tails's shoulder. "Tails, what's _that_?"

Tails turned.

It was a Gizoid. Blue, shark-like, it roared at the two, swinging with a large arm.

Tails grabbed Cosmo and pulled her from the box, tearing towards Emerl as the Gizoid smashed Cosmo's box.

"That's a Gizoid! It's a giant robot, and there are a lot of them, and the Möbians are at war with them!" he shouted back at Cosmo.

"'Möbians'? At 'war'?"

"Möbians are my people! And 'war' means that if we don't fight, they'll kill us!"

Tails leapt into Emerl, Cosmo sitting at his shoulder. She was alarmed at the sight of dried vomit on Emerl's console, but chose to ignore it for now.

He inserted the Core Drill.

"Come on, Emerl! Spin Start!"

The spiral gauge lit up, and Emerl stood erect.

"It worked!" Tails smiled, and Cosmo's scream of alarm told him that the enemy Gizoid had almost reached them.

Closing Emerl's canopy - Cosmo fell to Tails's side - Tails leapt at the Gizoid, yelling manically because a _Gizoid killed Sonic and Gizoids fighting killed his mom and dad and he wanted to make it pay and_

And Emerl's spiral gauge cut out again, the miniature Gizoid seizing up as green energy burst out of its joints.

The shark Gizoid looked puzzled, then punched Emerl out of the air.

Emerl's canopy opened up when it hit the ground, Cosmo falling on top of Tails.

"Tails! Get up, please, Tails!" she cried out to him.

"Damn it..."

In the light, Cosmo saw how hollow Tails's cheeks were, and the droop to his muzzle fur.

Tails stared into the empty sky.

"Damn it... Why won't you do what I tell you to... EMERL?"

Tails stood up like a puppet, his face empty of any emotion, his eyes staring at his feet as he lifelessly trudged towards the fallen Emerl.

"Run, Cosmo," he said forcefully. "Run away, and don't look back. I don't want this to happen to you."

"But Tails...!"

Tails found his digging drill. "They take away everyone I love. They took my mom from me. They took my dad from me. They even took _Sonic_ from me!" He pointed the drill at the shark Gizoid. "I don't care what happens to me... _JUST SO LONG AS NO ONE ELSE DIES!_"

The shark Gizoid opened its mouth, a missile emerging from a port beneath the Black Arms's cockpit.

So be it. As long as Cosmo got away, it would be alright if Tails died facing this thing...

He would be with Sonic...

Warm hands clasped around his.

Tails whipped around.

Cosmo had a very serious look on her face.

"Are you afraid to die?" she asked him. "You are not someone who should die now."

"No!" Tails said defiantly. "I'm _not_ afraid to die!"

"You mustn't lie, either," she said.

Then she smiled.

"Let's run away... _together_!"

Tails couldn't really argue with her; for some reason, she had a great effect on him, and he just went along with what she was asking of him.

So Tails and Cosmo ran, just as the shark Gizoid fired off its missile.

They would never make it. It was gonna catch them...

Acorn Cannon leapt into the canyon, firing at the missile.

"I'm not gonna let _anyone else die_!" shouted Sally's voice from within Acorn Cannon. The missile exploded a good distance away from Tails and Cosmo.

"I'm here, too!" shouted Knuckles, his King Knuckles leaping down, its spearhead-shaped head on a beeline for the shark Gizoid, which had only enough time to drop its jaw in shock before...

"TITANIUM HEAD DRIVER!" The King Knuckles drove itself into the Gizoid's mouth. Pulling itself onto its own feet, King Knuckles looked up at the flailing shark Gizoid with green eyes. "Let's hope you're good in math, Black Arms, 'cause here's a little lesson in... DIVISION!"

King Knuckles's pointed cone split into five dreadlocks, shattering the enemy Gizoid. The shrapnel exploded.

"How was _that_ for a finishing move?" Knuckles grinned.

Inside Acorn Cannon, Sally turned her eyes to the screen showing Tails and that strange plant-looking girl that was currently holding his hand.

_Who is that girl?_ Sally thought, glaring. _She looks like she's the same species as that guy we took the Great MetaFlare from. But... that Gizoid attacked her. Who is she...?_

_「萌え」っていったい何ですか__?_

In the Great Freedom's dining hall, every member of the Great Freedom Fighters had been brought forward to meet the girl whom Tails had found in a box. Everyone but Tails, Sally, Silver, Blaze, and Bean.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Cosmo. It is wonderful to meet you all," she said cheerfully.

"So, he runs off in the middle of a battle, and comes back with a girl on his arm?" muttered Vector. Then he smirked, "I oughta retreat more often!"

"This is no laughing matter, Vector," Espio said curtly. "We do not know where this girl-..."

"I was just _joking_, Espio! Sheesh!"

"Although, I will admit that she is rather easy on the eyes," Espio conceded.

Cosmo, her introduction wrapped up, was now looking about the people in the Great Freedom Fighters. "Some people are fat, some are thin, some are round, some are angular. And everyone's a different color. People really _do_ come in all shapes and sizes!"

"So..." Elias began. "You've never seen another person before in your life?"

"Only my father and my aunts, and his servants and bodyguards."

"_Bodyguards_? You mean, your father is _rich_?" said Knuckles, suddenly very interested.

"What does 'rich' mean?"

Knuckles's eyebrow twitched.

"You're joking, right? Rich is when you have a really big home and a lot of stuff!"

"Well, then, I suppose my father is rich. Our home was quite expansive."

Meg approached. "Your cup of tea, Ms. Cosmo?"

Cosmo sipped from it. She smiled brightly, "You make a marvelous tea, Ms. Meg!"

Meg smiled; it looked a little awkward. "Th-thank you, Ms. Cosmo." She stepped back into the crowd.

Cosmo took another sip of Meg's tea. "It really is a fine tea."

"So, do you remember any details about your village?" Rotor asked.

"'Village'?" Cosmo asked.

"The place where you live."

Cosmo looked down at her feet. She'd stopped smiling. "I don't know. I've never been outside before. My father said that the outside world was a very dangerous place."

"Well, he was right about that," Elias said. "With all these Gizoids and all. Your father must be worried sick about you."

"I don't... think so," Cosmo said.

This drew a fair bit of attention.

"I... fear that I made my father angry."

"What do you mean?"

"Well... one day, I asked my father, 'Why was I born?'. And at that point, I felt..." Cosmo closed her eyes. "That Father had closed his heart to me."

"Your father sounds like a strange man," Rotor said.

_BafBaf!__そんなに燃えるのが…好きかい__?_

Silver finally found Tails inside the Great Freedom's hangar, looming in front of Emerl.

"Emerl..." Tails growled. "Are you going... to abandon me, too?"

Then he ripped off his Core Drill, throwing it to the floor.

"WHAT THE _FUCK_ DO YOU WANT ME TO _DO_, DAMNIT?" he screamed. "CAN'T I EVEN GET A CHANCE TO AVENGE SONIC'S DEATH?"

Silver felt the urge to say something - _anything_ - to try to make Tails feel better about this situation.

When a hand grabbed his shoulder. He turned.

"Sally?"

"Don't," she said simply. Sadly. "Nothing you can say will help him. You'll only make the hole in his heart bigger."

And the Great Freedom shook.

Silver and Sally fell, as did Tails.

Back in the dining room...

"What's going on?" Elias asked.

"We'd better ask about that on the bridge!" Rotor said, he and Elias bolting to the elevator that would take them to the bridge.

Once there, they faced Blaze, on radar duty. She was gaping out one of the two window-ports that doubled as the Great Freedom's eyes.

"What was that?" Rotor asked.

"Where's all this water coming from?" asked Bean frantically, pointing out the two windows.

Indeed, walls of water higher than the Great Freedom itself had surrounded the vessel.

Blaze shouted, "Wait! There's something coming on the radar! It's huge..."

From the wall of water directly in front of the Great Freedom, a tremendous, dark-red centipede made entirely out of metal emerged. A pair of crab pincers emerged from the water as well, indicating a larger midsection behind it.

**海中潜行要塞型ギゾイド  
グレイトメタシー  
Submarine Fortress Gizoid  
****Great MetaSea**

Standing atop the vessel's head, as large as Baihuu was, was a Gizoid the color of old blood, with three orange orbs on its body: one in its chest, one in the middle of its head, and a very small one just over that one. It had black highlights around its shoulder pads, a cape the color of fresh blood, and horns coming out of its back and out of its head.

**ウンデニン・レッドパイン専用カスタムギゾイド  
キンロン  
Undenine Redpine's Exclusive Use Custom Gizoid  
Qyinlone**

The enemy Gizoid leapt onto the Great Freedom's deck.

"There's no escape, Möbians!" came a menacing voice from the enemy Gizoid.

In the dining room...

Cosmo looked shocked as the voice rang through the vessel.

But not the same sort of shocked as everyone else.

"I _know_ that voice..." she said, running out of the room.

On the bridge...

"OPEN FIRE ON THE ENEMY!" screamed Bean, smashing the button that controlled the guns. Again. And again. And again.

Nothing happened. Bean pounded still more fiercely.

"The guns haven't been calibrated yet, Bean," Elias said, palming his face.

Rotor activated the PA system. "Silver! Get into Freedom right away! There's a-..."

Down in the hangar...

"I got it, Rotor!" said Silver, Freedom's mouth already closing around him. "I can see it! I'm gonna have to wait for Tails and Emerl, though."

For Tails had crouched in front of Emerl, facing the outside.

"I am one of Helix King Lucus Darkoak's Four Helix Generals: Undenine Redpine!" shouted the red Gizoid outside. "You filthy Möbians have been having your way with Syne's Great MetaFlare for too long! The sight of my undeterrable Great MetaSea, and my personal Gizoid, the Qyinlone, will be your last!"

The Qyinlone began to stomp forwards across the Great Freedom's deck.

Sally, holding Nicole, paused momentarily to look at Tails, then decided, _I should distract Redpine long enough for Tails to get a hold of himself and into Emerl...!_

She bolted outside.

A few moments later, Tails heard the sound of _his_ shoes running across the hangar floor.

And he remembered: Cosmo was still wearing them.

He looked up.

Cosmo.

Was running.

Onto.

The deck.

Where.

An enemy Gizoid.

Was waiting.

"Cosmo!" he called after her.

Cosmo ran past Sally, who was firing with Nicole at the Qyinlone. Sally's eyes widened, "Wh... Is she trying to get herself killed?"

Cosmo stopped less than twenty feet from the Qyinlone.

It stopped.

Cosmo put out her arms.

"Stop this, General Redpine!" she said sternly. "Do you not know who I am?"

Everyone froze.

Inside Qyinlone, Undenine Redpine was stunned.

"It can't be... Is that...?"

And with Cosmo's next words, everything changed.

"First Princess Cosmo Darkoak, daughter of Helix King Lucus Darkoak, commands you to leave, Undenine Redpine!"

**つづく  
To be continued...**

* * *

次回予告  
Next Episode Preview

Memories...

Are they what tie people down...?

Or are they what set people free?

Next time on _Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl_: _**"Who Is This 'Sonic'?"**_


	16. Chapter 15

_(Chapter Fifteen. Now, I'm looking forward to this next chapter or two. You'll see why by the end of this chapter!_

_Oh, and after today, updates will possibly be hindered; my part-time summer job is starting up on Thursday, and hours are from 9 to 4; my prime writing time. Updates will most likely slow down._

_Look for the reference a certain character (other than Viral) voiced by Nobuyuki Hiyama! And enjoy!)_

"This is the tale of a man who continues to fight his destiny.

"At the base of the valley, Tails finds a beautiful girl in a box.

"This girl's name is Cosmo.

"Suddenly, one of the remaining Helix Generals arrives.

"Then, Cosmo rushes out and identifies herself as the daughter of the Helix King..."

_燃えてばかりでいいのかい__?_

"I will not allow you to hurt these people!" Cosmo continued.

Undenine Redpine was paralyzed.

"Impossible... What is Princess Cosmo doing out here, so far from the Capital?" Then, he snorted. "It can't be her."

A fish-like Black Arms, Redpine's adjutant on the Great MetaSea, appeared in his eye. "But sire, she looks exactly like the Princess."

"Really?" replied Redpine. "In that case, we'll just kill her and pretend we never saw her."

And just as he was drawing Qyinlone's fist back...

"General Redpine, please stop!" the fishy Black Arms called out. "All of our transmissions are being recorded."

Redpine swore.

On the bridge of the Great Freedom, everyone watched in awe as the Qyinlone stood frozen in uncertainty for several seconds...

Then...

Turn and step back onto the Great MetaSea.

"His back is turned! His back is turned!" Bean shouted.

"Did our little princess really turn him back?" Rotor pondered.

"C'mon, missiles, don't be shy! FIRE!" Bean pounded at the fire controls again.

Still nothing.

Elias put his face in his hand. "I told you, they're not calibrated yet."

The Qyinlone faced the Great Freedom again.

"I am not running away, Möbians!" called out General Redpine. "I will be back! This time tomorrow! You got that?"

The Great MetaSea retracted back into its wall of water. Moments later, the walls of water dissipated into vapor. The Great MetaSea and the Qyinlone had vanished without a trace.

Stunned silence fell over the inert Great Freedom.

"What's a 'princess'?" Tails asked Sally.

Sally glared at Cosmo.

"A 'princess' is what you call the daughter of a king," she said darkly.

In the dining hall...

"You hear that?" Vector muttered. "Unbelievable. We got the daughter of the guy we're fighting on board."

"Should we lock her in the brig?" asked Elias.

"What's the plan, Knuckles?" Vector asked.

"Yeah, what are we gonna do...?" asked Big.

"Yeah! Tell us what we're gonna do!" Bark barked.

"We're gonna interrogate her tomorrow," Knuckles said, turning towards a human man with spiky brown hair. "Chris, was it?"

He nodded, "What is it?"

"You're on lookout duty for this guy comes around. Until the interrogation, we should treat her like nothing happened. And then, we're gonna put the screws to her and make her spill what she knows."

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN:  
Who Is This 'Sonic'?**

At the Royal Capital of Greengate, Undenine had fallen to his knees in prostration before his most powerful friend.

"General Undenine Redpine fled in the face of the enemy when he had a clear shot at vengeance?" Helix King Darkoak sneered. "What kind of joke is this?"

"Sir! The only reason I retreated was because those filthy Möbians were holding Princess Cosmo hostage."

"You great fool."

Undenine looked up in fear.

"I have cast her out," Darkoak said, fondling the chin of a Seedrian woman with pale-blue hair and a single white flower atop her head. Undenine knew she was Princess Cosmo's mother. "I no longer care what happens to her. You would have been better to step on her than to retreat."

"You... cast her out?" Undenine dared a glance up at the shadow sitting in the throne. His heart was pounding in his chest. "But... Lucus, you didn't tell me this."

"And you are seeking to use _that_ to excuse your failure to set an example to these Möbians?"

"No, sir!"

"Undenine Redpine. You committed the grave offense of fleeing in the face of the enemy, all to save a girl who is no longer a Princess, squandering your one chance of revenge at these Möbians." Even with his head turned to the ground, Undenine heard the Helix King's smirk. "It's just too good."

And the Helix King laughed.

Undenine tried to recover his scraps of credibility.

"Please, Lucus! Give me another chance at the Möbians!"

"Oh? You are daring to tell me what to do?"

"No! Not in the slightest, Helix King!"

"Good. I see that you recall our relationship as a group changed fundamentally when we arrived on this planet. So, what was it that you were saying?"

"Helix King, I request that you allow me to set out alone in Qyinlone, and I will personally slay the Möbians and Princess Cosmo, and destroy the Great MetaFlare by this time tomorrow!"

A moment of contemplation...

And...

"No."

Undenine looked up at the Helix King, unable to believe what he'd heard.

"Lucus?"

"You have already demonstrated a hesitance to destroy Möbians when they present you with a Helix Princess," Darkoak said. "I do not want to risk the possibility of a repeat performance of this afternoon.

"The Compass Formation shall be dispatched tomorrow."

Undenine's heart skipped a beat.

"The... Compass Formation, sir? But... we are short one Meta-Gizoid. And one General."

"We have reserves," said Helix King Darkoak simply, and Undenine could only think of how callous he was being about the death of a friend he'd had for over two-thousand years. "Salasine. Gnonine. Bring forth the Provisional Helix General."

A whirlwind and a pillar of rock appeared and disappeared.

In their places, respectively, were Salasine Blacknarcissus, and Gnonine Pale-Bayleaf and...

Undenine glared deeply at the third figure, whom had appeared alongside Gnonine.

The Black Arms, Commander Shadow.

Now, _General_ Shadow.

_コスモ・ダークオーク_

The next day, a full meal had been laid out, and practically every member of the Freedom Fighters had gathered to witness this interrogation.

If anything, it would turn out to be interesting.

Cosmo clasped her hands together over the meal laid before her. "Thank you for the food," she said smilingly.

"Thanks for the food!" Charmy cried, taking a drumstick.

"Thank you for the food," said Cream, her hands clasped like Cosmo's.

And Charmy had already started to dig into his drumstick.

"I can't cut my food," said Cream.

"Let me help you out," Cosmo said.

Elias had no idea how to begin.

"So... Umm... Princess Cosmo?" he stumbled out.

"Oh! Do you want some food, too?" She held out a fork laden with spaghetti, tipped with a meatball. Cosmo smiled, "Open wide!"

Awkwardly, Elias conceded, and as soon as the food entered his mouth...

"Delicious! Whoever cooked this is a great chef!"

"That would be me, Elias," Meg said, waving a hand in the air at Elias.

"I-I shouldn't have expected less from you, Meg!" Elias said, realizing that Meg being a good cook in addition to being pretty and nice and stuff made glad he was...

No. Not yet. They could think about that sort of stuff when they took down the Helix King.

"This food is tasty?" Big asked.

"Really?" asked Bark.

And Knuckles exploded, grabbing a drumstick as well.

"ARE YOU GUYS IDIOTS?" he slammed the drumstick against the table. "WHY DID YOU ROLL OUT THE WELCOME WAGON LIKE THIS? THIS IS AN _INTERROGATION_!"

Cosmo shrunk back slightly, Charmy and Cream both cowering at Knuckles's display.

"Who... are you, sir?" she asked shakily.

A large grin crossed Knuckles's face.

"I thought you'd never ask!" he took a large bite from the drumstick. "I am Knuckles The Echidna, the eldest member of the Wandering Orphans, and the leader of the Freedom Fighters!"

"When did we decide that _Knuckles_ was the leader?" Lobo asked Elias.

"I think _he _did, just _now_," Elias replied.

Knuckles gave the two of them withering looks.

Cosmo had recovered, giving Knuckles a smile.

"Okay! It is very nice to meet you, Mr. Knuckles."

Knuckles shook the drumstick at her.

"Look, just because you're cute and nice doesn't change the fact that you're the enemy."

"Wow, he's right!" Big said.

"Yeah, the little girl's the enemy!" Bark growled.

"She's the enemy!" the two pilots of Double Bruiser put opposing fists in the air.

Knuckles nodded, grinning.

And then Cosmo asked...

"Mr. Knuckles... What is an 'enemy'?"

Knuckles face-faulted into the table. Regaining his composure, he flailed his fists about.

"An enemy is a _bad person_! Someone you gotta beat the crap out of!"

Cosmo looked politely puzzled.

"'Beat the crap out of'... what does _that_ mean?"

Knuckles's jaw dropped, the drumstick falling onto the linen of the tablecloth. He began to gesticulate wildly again.

"Well... It's when you take your fist, and you belt the guy, and..."

"What does 'fist' mean?"

Knuckles's arms went slack.

"Well, a fist is when you go like _this _with your hand, and you hit someone with it."

"Why would you do that to somebody?"

"Because that 'somebody' pissed me off!"

"What does 'pissed off' mean?"

"WHEN YOU GET ANNOYED!"

Meg smirked, "He's trying to interrogate her..."

Blaze couldn't help smiling as well, "But she is interrogating him instead."

Marine grinned, "Big Bro Knux is not so bonzer around her type o' girl."

"BUTT OUT!" Knuckles yelled at his three surrogate sisters, who leapt to the ceiling in shock.

Cosmo looked rather pleased and concerned at the same time.

"Well, Mr. Knuckles, you have a fiery temper, but you have answered all of my questions and you do not... umm... 'piss me off' at all." She smiled brightly. "Thank you! This has been very informative."

Knuckles raised his arms like a strong man, grinning widely. "Well, I _am_ the leader, so it's only natural!"

The Great Freedom Fighters around Knuckles made noises of disapproval.

Knuckles frowned.

Elias snickered a little, approaching his sister. "Well, _that_ was a bust." He glanced at Cosmo. "Maybe she isn't as much of a threat as we thought. I mean, that one Gizoid _did_ attack both her _and_ Tails."

"Don't be fooled just because she's cute, Elias," said Sally sharply. "There are just as many pretty girls out there who _don't_ want to spill your guts on the ground."

Elias gave Sally a look of concern.

_ゴルディオンハンマー_

The bladed crest had been removed; it served no purpose for this upgrade. Additionally, Shadow did not want to look at that helmet that That Blue Hedgehog had stolen from his ARK. He would not rest until the Gizoid called Freedom Emerl was smashed into inconstituent particles of light.

The Gizoid's framework had been super-reinforced as well, to be able to withstand tenfold the stress of the original Gizoid. It would need to.

With its new weapon.

On its left side, it now bore two arms.

But on the right, the two arms joined into one at the elbow.

The white Gizoid's sleek body turned yellow and bulky where the two right arms met and became one.

And in its single right hand...

It took the weapon that its old master had failed to kill That Blue Hedgehog with.

"Hammer connected," said Shadow from within the cockpit...

And ARK-Hephaestus came to life, standing erect upon the deck of the four-armed white-and-silver-painted mechanical goliath.

Klaxons blared.

"What is it? I didn't even activate the Hammer!" Shadow called out.

General Blacknarcissus appeared in his left eye. "That fool Redpine launched early! And it will take another five minutes to launch!"

General Pale-Bayleaf appeared in his right eye. "So Undenine has a headstart. Perhaps we will cross paths on his way back to the Capital. The plan does not change. Shadow, your role is as a substitute for Syne. Do not disappoint us."

"I will not, Generals," Shadow said, as the two Helix Generals disappeared from his vision.

Shadow burned with anger.

"Blue hedgehog, the man who wielded this weapon may have failed to kill you..." Shadow snarled. "But enjoy your last moments. Today, you will face your end... at my hand... and at General Yellowzelkova's... with this... the GOLDION HAMMER!"

_石像_

It was dark in Tails's room, the only light came from the hallway, and the only furnishings - apart from the bed - were several rock statues carved in the likeness of a hedgehog with pointed shades. A few were very rough, one or two even shattered, but most of them could have been found in a town square.

"So this is the Sonic you spoke of?"

Tails leapt into the air in shock, shouting as he did so.

Cosmo had wandered in while he was working, smiling at his handiwork.

But he didn't see it.

"I'm crazy, aren't I? Knuckles says I'm a lost cause," he said, returning to his work.

"No, you're not crazy," Cosmo replied. "I can tell from looking at this. It's clear how much you loved this person."

"Sorry about this, Tails," Sally said, standing by the door. "The interrogation didn't work out, and she wanted to see you."

"Knuckles told me many things about what an 'enemy' is, and how you 'beat the crap' out of them with your 'fist' when they 'piss you off'," Cosmo said seriously, and even in Tails's state, he couldn't help but give Cosmo an odd glance. "He then explained the many things that my father was doing on the surface. But I do not believe that my father would do such horrible things without reason. And at the same time, I do not think that you and your people and the other Möbians are bad."

"We didn't do anything," Tails said, stopping with his drill-spinning. "_He's_ the bad guy here."

"Do you hate my father?"

"Of _course_ I do."

Cosmo's eyes glistened in hurt way. "Do you hate me as well?"

"I don't know anything about you, Cosmo."

"Why is it that you fight them, Tails?"

"It was because I had Sonic with me," Tails said, staring at his feet. "He was there to believe in me, so I could fight with him there."

"I would like to know about him," said Cosmo, smiling sadly. "Who is this 'Sonic'?"

_機動_

"If we don't get this thing moving quickly, a lot more than tears will be spilt," Rotor said, fiddling around under a control panel in the Great Freedom's bridge.

"Aren't you worried about Tails, Rotor?" asked Silver, holding out a tool chest.

Rotor poked out, soot across his face. "We're all working hard, aren't we? Wrench."

"Wrench," Silver handed over the requested tool. "But, Tails..."

"Emerl won't activate anymore. If it's because its pilot has lost the will to live, I'm sorry, but it's probably got the right idea. Best to keep Tails away from battle, for his own good. Maybe it'd better for him to go back to Knothole."

Then Rotor spotted a pair of wires, disconnected from each other. Both were quite thick.

"Hmm..." Making sure his rubber gloves were on, Rotor took the two wires... "Could this be it...?" ...and connected them.

Great Freedom's engine rumbled.

He smiled. "She lives again."

_お前の__XXX__で…_

"So he died in battle," Cosmo said solemnly. "No wonder everyone here hates me."

"No one here hates you, Cosmo," Tails said morosely. "I don't think Sonic fought out of hatred. No matter how tough the battle, he was always laughing. I think, he was..."

"A man whose stupidity knew no bounds," cut in Sally, a faint smile crossing her face. "I'm sorry. Keep talking."

"This was before we met you, Sally," Tails said. "It was our last big escape attempt before I found my Core Drill. We were all digging our way out of Knothole Village, but there was a cave-in, and we got trapped."

Sally's eyes widened, facing Tails, "I know this-..."

"Huh?"

After a pregnant pause, Sally shook her head. "Never mind. Keep going."

"The path behind us caved in, and everyone lost hope. We thought we were going to die. I thought I was going to be buried alive, just like Mom and Dad. But Sonic didn't lose it. He urged us on, going, 'Onwards and upwards, men!', laughing all the while. My hands stopped shaking. When I focus on drilling, I can... hear the soil calling out to me. 'It's softer this way!' or 'Try digging over here!'. I follow their advice as I dig.

"But if we'd had given up that day, we all would have died. It was all because of Sonic that we didn't give up. That's how he always was. He's the only reason we got out that day, the only reason I can do anything. Without him, I'm just a waste of space. I can't do anything anymore."

Cosmo noticed a sad, knowing look on Sally's face, and Sally looked away.

"That's not true," Cosmo said to Tails. "You rescued _me_ all by yourself, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but..."

"You are so strong on your own, Tails. Why do you want to die and become Sonic?"

"Because I'm _not_ strong. I'm not strong at all. Everyone back at Knothole Village always stayed away from me because I'm weird and smell bad. But Sonic, he was the only one who'd hang out with me who didn't make fun of me. He was strong, and kind, and big. That's why... I tried to become like Sonic, but it was no use."

"Tails, you cannot bring back someone who is already gone!" Cosmo said, looking irritated. "You have your own personhood, and you cannot throw it aside. You are you, Tails! And you have things that only _you_ can do."

"But..." Tails looked away, at his busts of Sonic. "You're only saying that because you didn't know Sonic."

"I am sorry, but I cannot get to know a dead person," Cosmo said bluntly. "But... you also cannot rely on a dead person, either."

"Cosmo...!" Tails breathed, his eyes burning.

"That's enough," Sally snapped, stepping into Tails's room. "You have no idea what we're going through because Sonic's gone. What _Tails_ is going through. What _I'm_ going through!"

"I may not be able to know this Sonic, but I understand Tails," Cosmo said emphatically. "He is his own person, and he can do things just fine on his own!"

Sally grabbed Cosmo's arms.

"Don't...! Don't talk like you're some innocent bystander in all this, _Princess_!" Sally shouted. "You know _perfectly_ well whose fault it is that Sonic's dead!" Sally's eyes began to shed tears. "So don't you _dare_ stand there and calmly lecture him!" She got in close to Cosmo's face, almost nose-to-nose (except Cosmo didn't have one). "So, why don't you tell us what's going on in _your_ head?"

"Me...?" Cosmo's eyes shone with an emotion that Sally was startled to see: hurt. It wasn't the same hurt that she was feeling with Sonic's death, but it was still tremendous. Her woman's instinct taking over, she released Cosmo.

"I don't remember you being there, Ms. Sally," Cosmo explained. "A few days ago, I asked my father, 'Why was I born?'. I felt Father's heart go cold. And the next time I awoke, I was inside that box. I panicked, and passed out. Then, I felt wetness striking my cheek. I awoke, and there was Tails."

"Where are you going with this?" Sally asked.

"I want... to know more. About you, Ms. Sally, and about Tails, and about Sonic, and about the Great Freedom Fighters, and about Möbians, and about the surface." Cosmo's brows furrowed. "I want to know more!"

And the Great Freedom shook again.

"Everyone, the guy from yesterday is back!" called out Chris over the PA system.

A moment later, Redpine's voice boomed out.

"I have returned, Möbians, just as I promised!" It took on a slightly gentler tone. "Now, I'm a bit short on time, so could you let me speak with my princess, Cosmo?"

Tails turned to Cosmo. "Cosmo...!"

"I will go," she said. "I want to know why..."

And she left.

Sally left as well, leaving Tails to his thoughts and statues.

_燃えてばかりでいいのかい__?_

"I'm glad to see you safe, Princess Cosmo," said General Redpine from his Qyinlone. Great MetaSea was resting on Great Freedom's bow as it was twenty-four hours before. Walls of water had surrounded the Great Freedom again.

Behind her, Cosmo could not have known that Sally, reaching her sniper's position, had pointed Nicole square on the back of her head...

"Undenine, I have a question to ask of you," Cosmo said, a sour look on her face. "Are you and Father's other servants making the people down on the surface suffer?"

Qyinlone knelt, the crimson plates around its crotch area parting, the cockpit of Qyinlone extending out on a pole, opening up just before Cosmo.

"It is as you say," Redpine said, kneeling his head before Cosmo. "They are the orders of the Helix King."

"_Father_ ordered you to do this?"

"Yes. We cannot allow Möbians to live on the surface."

"And you did not question these orders?"

"Question them? Never. In all the time I've known your father, he's never led us astray. We've willfully obeyed far more horrible orders from him. The Möbians are nothing more than garbage, and it's our job to ensure that the landfills don't overflow."

On the bridge of Great Freedom, Knuckles grimaced, "_Garbage_, you say?"

"But these people have done no wrong!" Cosmo protested. "They only wish to live on the surface in peace."

"They killed Syne, Cosmo," Redpine said, shaking his head sadly. "That _alone_ should be reason enough."

"They did? But, from what I have heard, he killed someone they call Sonic before he was..." Cosmo's brows furrowed again. "I will discuss this matter with my father. Undenine, I order you to take me back to the Capital at once!"

And Undenine Redpine dropped the act.

"If you wanna go to the Capital, _take your own sorry ass there!_"

Cosmo's eyes widened. "What did you say?"

Redpine leaned in. "Let me make it clear. You're not a _Princess anymore_! Lucus has abandoned you, cut you off, thrown you out!"

All about the Great Freedom, eyes widened, hands flew to mouths, and Sally's sniper aim shifted ever so slightly...

"I don't know _what _you did to piss him off so much, but he told me to kill you along with the rest of the Möbian worms!"

Cosmo was shellshocked.

"Abandoned me? Kill me? Father ordered you to _kill_ me?"

In Tails's room...

"He... abandoned her? His own _daughter_? He wants her _dead_?"

Tails's grip on his digging dril tightened.

"Sonic... I... I...!"

Back on the deck...

"That's a lie!" Cosmo shouted at Redpine. "Father would _never_ order you to do that!"

"Oh, he wouldn't, would he?" Redpine said, the cockpit retracting into Qyinlone's pelvis. "It doesn't matter whether you believe me or not!" Qyinlone stood erect, lifting a foot over Cosmo. "_You're gonna be dead either way!_"

Cosmo shielded herself in the shadow of Qyinlone's foot.

Then...

"Ah-ah-_ahh_! Not so quickly, Undenine!" came another voice.

Redpine swore.

And as an effeminate laugh swept over them all, the walls of water surrounding the Great Freedom became a dome of water, which dissipated into vapor...

And a tremendous shadow fell over the Great Freedom. It was a dark-purple flying machine as large as either the Great Freedom or the Great MetaSea, shaped like a large letter 'X', a face in the angle facing the Great Freedom. A large, spherical cluster of blue lights glowed on its underbelly, along with two weapons batteries on long limbs tucked away like a bird in flight.

**飛行要塞母空型ギゾイド**  
**グレイトメタウィンド  
Aerial Carrier Fortess Gizoid  
Great MetaWind**

"Princess Cosmo's screams would be more visible on a much grander stage!" said that voice again, coming from a large Gizoid hovering down from it. "A stage that shall be provided by me, the most magnificent of the Helix Generals, Salasine Blacknarcissus!"

This Gizoid was black, with a blue-green cape, three horns on its head, and four purple orbs on its body: one that encompassed its entire face, one on its chest, and one on each shoulder, beneath shoulder pads. In its left hand was a staff ending in a large, round mirror.

**サラシン・ブラックナルキッソス専用カスタムギゾイド**  
**チョークゥエ  
Salasine Blacknarcissus's Exclusive Use Custom Gizoid  
Zheuque**

"A stage that shall be an exquisite gallows in the sky!" called out General Blacknarcissus.

On Great Freedom's bridge, everyone had gone white.

"What the...?" Elias breathed.

"The radar is registering an enormous Gizoid hovering overhead!" Blaze shouted. "It's releasing swarms of flying Gizoids!" Another large blip on the radar, and Blaze broke out in sweat. "Th-there's another, emerging from the sand behind us!"

A pale-green dome of metal emerged behind the Great Freedom, a metallic face grimacing at them.

**難攻不落要塞ギゾイド**  
**グレイトメタロック  
Impregnable Fortress Gizoid  
Great MetaRock**

"So, it's an all-out battle," Knuckles growled.

"Without Freedom Emerl, this battle is hopeless!" cried out Rotor.

Reaching the deck of Great Freedom, Zheuque grabbed Cosmo out from under Qyinlone's foot.

Redpine grimaced.

Blacknarcissus grinned. "Those who defy the Helix King shall serve as an example of what to expect. That is what Lucus demands!"

Cosmo struggled to free herself. "What are you going to do?"

Another voice, this one from the Great MetaRock, rang out.

"We will execute all of you," it said. "I am the Helix General Gnonine Pale-Bayleaf. Foolish Möbians, do you really think that just because you acquired the Great MetaFlare, that you hold the key to victory?"

Atop the Great MetaRock, stood Pale-Bayleaf's Gizoid. It was a pale blue-green, an off-green cape hanging from each shoulder pad. Three dark-blue-green orbs went up his Gizoid's torso like buttons on a shirt, three eyes of the same color on its horned, insectoid head. In each hand was a menacing hooked sword.

**ノニン・ペールベイリーフ専用カスタムギゾイド**  
**ズワンウーオ  
Gnonine Pale-Bayleaf's Exclusive Use Custom Gizoid  
Xuanwuo**

Pale-Bayleaf continued, "We will demonstrate to every Möbian on the surface, _and_ underground, just what happens to fools!"

And countless flying Gizoids in the sky activated cameras. And all around Möbius, in villages on the surface, villages that had openings to the surface, and villages that did not believe the surface even existed, images of the Helix King's Generals' Meta-Gizoids appeared.

And Gnonine Pale-Bayleaf's voice echoed around the globe:

"Every fool who comes to the surface, _every_ fool who rises up against Helix King Lucus Darkoak, even if that fool is _his own daughter_, he will have them killed without a spare thought. That is how the Helix King works. And this planet need only cower before his absolute power!"

In all this time, the Gizoid pilots had gotten to their machines, and they had the resolve to fight.

For Cosmo.

For Möbius.

"So, he thinks he can do what he wants to us," Knuckles growled from his King Knuckles. "He would throw out his own daughter and then try to have her killed? That's something I can't stand for!"

The other pilots gave their assent to Knuckles's declaration.

"Let's show them the fighting spirit of the Wandering Orphans!" called out Meg from the Eliastriker.

"We're not called Black Arms Hunters for nuthin', mates!" shouted Marine from the koala-shaped Super Marine.

Lupe's voice called out from the communications terminal in the engine room, "Great Freedom engine at critical output! We're ready down here when you are, Rotor!"

"Your timing couldn't be better, Lupe," replied Rotor. "We're in a bit of a pinch up here. We've got no real choice. Elias!"

"Gotcha!" Elias shouted.

"I got it! All cannons, fire!" Bean pounded on the controls.

"You idiot! Cosmo's still out there!" Elias shouted in a panic.

Rotor cut in, "No. The cannons are still..."

The cannons _still_ were not fully calibrated. Only puffs of smoke came out.

Blacknarcissus laughed, Zheuque ascending back to the Great MetaWind's airspace.

"I won't let you have her!" Sally shouted, firing Nicole at Blacknarcissus's Gizoid.

"Your pitiful shots will not work on my Zheuque!" Blacknarcissus replied, as his Zheuque left any danger from Sally's shots.

The Great MetaSea reared up, Qyinlone returning to the Meta-Gizoid's hangar.

"Möbian scum!" boomed Redpine's voice from the Great MetaSea. "I'm gonna teach you a lesson in the fury of Undenine Redpine!"

And Great MetaSea, its jaws opening wide, took half of the Great Freedom's prow into its mouth before any of the Great Freedom Fighters' Gizoid brigade could deploy, the hangar doors closing in this emergency. Great Freedom's Catapult Arms attempted to push it off, but Great MetaSea's crab claws clasped its hands tightly.

And it reared up again, taking Great Freedom wholy off the ground, sending on a direct course for the Great MetaWind, tearing off Great Freedom's right arm in the process.

People in the Great Freedom were plastered against the walls from the force of the throw. The Gizoids flew about the hangar in a frenzy.

The extended weapons batteries on Great MetaWind's underside kicked the Great Freedom towards the Great MetaRock.

Great MetaRock spun like a top, sending the Great Freedom flying...

And Great Freedom's prow was impaled by an identical prow, only silver and white instead of yellow.

There, on the Great Freedom's starboard side, was an identical Meta-Gizoid, but painted in silver and white, its four arms crossed across its chest. Its observation tower resembled a very familiar bladed crest...

**仮説巨大地上戦艦型ギゾイド**  
**グレイトメタアーク  
Provisional Mobile Fortress Gizoid  
Great MetaARK**

"How did _that_ taste, you dirty animals?" called out a familiar voice from Great Freedom's sinister twin. "This is my newly gained power as a Helix General: the _Great MetaARK_!"

Shadow could be seen in one of Great MetaARK's eyes.

Great MetaARK's four arms pushed Great Freedom towards Great MetaRock, which spun away from its position, revealing severely weakened earth. The Great Freedom sunk up to its waist.

"This empty wasteland will become your gravesite, Möbians!" Shadow called out.

On the bridge of Great Freedom, everyone managed to recover and return to their stations.

"The legs are buried!" Chris cried out. "We can't move!"

"A vast number of enemy Gizoids are incoming!" Blaze yelled.

Elias shouted at a screen showing the Great Freedom Fighters' Gizoid brigade, roughed up from being thrown about, but alright. "You guys, get out there and protect the Great Freedom!"

"Protect it?" asked Big, his face appearing.

"How can we do that?" demanded Bark, likewise.

"Just get out there and hope for the best!" Elias insisted.

Meanwhile, with the Great MetaARK, a Gizoid had been taken up in each of its four Catapult Arms.

"Gizoid Squad... launch!" Shadow ordered.

The four arms swung, and four Gizoids launched at the Great Freedom.

Two were knocked away almost instantly, one by Double Bruiser, and the other by Freedom.

"Not a bad swing, Pothead!" Vector called out from Vector Prime, pounding another Gizoid in the face.

But the Great MetaARK was not the only Meta-Gizoid releasing enemy Gizoids. Great MetaRock's heavily armored bombardment Gizoids opened fire, purple lasers scorching the hull of Great Freedom.

"All weapons are calibrated!" Rotor said. "Fire at will!"

"ALRIGHT! FIII~IRE!" shouted Bean, mashing the fire button.

The weapons platforms began to tear into the enemy forces, but there were just too many.

Espionaj, with no sniper available, had had its sniper seat replaced with a makeshift laser cannon. Mighty Fists fired on enemy Gizoids flying in from Great MetaWind. "We can't lose to them, not here!" Mighty yelled.

On Great Freedom's deck, Freedom was swinging its shades about at enemy Gizoids from all four enemy Meta-Gizoids.

_There are too many of them_, Silver thought. _We can't take them all at once._

And then a white Gizoid with a large yellow right arm, carrying a _large golden hammer_, leapt at him.

Silver yelped in fright, and scrambled away, narrowly dodging the Goldion Hammer that ARK-Hephaestus was swinging.

And good thing, too. With each missed swing, ARK-Hephaestus's golden hammer left gouges in the Great Freedom's deck that glowed as brightly as the sun.

That was not a feature that Yellowzelkova had made use of.

"What's the matter?" ARK-Hephaestus's mouth moved in time to Shadow's voice as it pursued Freedom. "Don't tell me you've gotten sloppy, blue hedgehog?"

"You're making a huge mistake," muttered Silver, trying to dodge the golden hammer.

Across the deck, Xuanwuo, piloted by Gnonine Pale-Bayleaf, had made landfall.

King Knuckles dived at it. "TITANIUM HEAD DRIVER!"

But Xuanwuo dodged it. "You're fighting the wrong enemy, boy." It brought both swords up, blades glowing a pale, sickly-green light. "XUANWUO ENGRAVER!"

"Knuckles!" cried out both Meg and Marine, their Gizoids blasting the swords out of Xuanwuo's hands before it could swing. The blades shattered.

King Knuckles tore off away from Pale-Bayleaf's Gizoid.

And Xuanwuo generated a new pair of swords, leaping back to the Great MetaRock.

On top of Great Freedom, Lobo in O'Donnell swung his sword at any enemy Gizoid which flew too close.

But he could not get the Gizoids which were _not_ flying by Great Freedom's body, or were too high to strike with his own sword.

Flying enemy Gizoids had begun bombardment of Great Freedom, taking out its main gun platforms.

Unshielding herself, Sally peered through the smoke.

"We can't win," she said. "They have us outnumbered in every way."

And Qyinlone landed on deck again, Redpine stepping out. Gizoid gunships set down on either side, dispatching dozens of Black Arms. These ones resembled aquatic life moreso than those under Yellowzelkova's command.

"Listen!" Sally heard Redpine command. "Don't damage the ship more than it has been. Just take out the trash!"

Sally fired Nicole at him here, where he was vulnerable...

And a field of red-orange spiraling energy appeared, deflecting the bullet.

"What was that?" Sally said.

_This is the end_, she thought. _I never thought I'd see Sonic again so soon._

**つづく  
To be continued...**

**

* * *

**

次回予告  
Next Episode Preview

In the heart of every person, there is a deep, dark hole.

One day, this hole becomes a new tunnel.

Next time on _Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl_: _**"Why Do You Suppose We Were Born?"**_


	17. Chapter 16

_(Chapter Sixteen. This chapter is a real doozy, it turns out. But, I had a lot of stuff to work in. Also, look for a surprise or two, and some foreshadowing._

_BTW, I got _Gurren Lagann The Movie: Childhood's End_ in the mail on Wednesday; the day after the last chapter was posted. How about _that _timing, huh?)_

_

* * *

_

"The enemy Gizoids are overwhelming us!" Blaze shouted from the radar console. "Enemy troops have landed on the deck!"

"Shake 'em off, Ari!" Elias shouted to the ram at the helm.

"Easier said than done!" Ari replied. "It's a hailstorm in every direction, and our legs are still sunken!"

Elias's hope began to fade.

_Is this the end?_

_燃えてばかりでいいのかい__?_

Cosmo stared down at the billowing clouds of smoke emerging from where the Great Freedom was mere moments before. She knew that the bombardment from Salasine's flying Gizoids would not be enough to destroy it, but still...

A flying camera displayed Salasine's sneering face to Cosmo. She frowned.

"Perhaps you should be more worried about yourself?" he quipped.

"Why?" Cosmo asked angrily. "Why is Father doing this? Why has he cast me out?"

"Entertainment," came another voice.

Cosmo turned.

Gnonine's face was being projected as well, and he wore a sinister smile.

"Lucus and the four of us had been gifted with immunity to the effects of age," Gnonine said. "We have all lived over two-thousand years now, and most of that on this planet Möbius. Inevitably, we all developed hobbies. Syne developed a fondness for spicy food and jogging for scores of miles a day. Undenine took to swimming. Salasine has his penchant for admiring his reflection. I took to puzzles and battle simulations. And Lucus...

"Creating and raising children is a pastime to Lucus. And when he grows tired of one, he disposes of it." Gnonine leaned close, his grin showing many teeth. "Just like he would a doll."

Cosmo's heart turned to ice.

"A doll...?" she breathed. Memories flashed through Cosmo's mind of when her favorite doll had fallen apart, but when she presented it to her father, he merely presented her with a doll identical to it, disposing of the old one. _Worn-out dolls must be thrown away_, he'd said.

"I understand that you asked him, 'Why was I born?', Princess," Gnonine continued. "That was a bad move."

"Of course your father would hate you," said Salasine. "Why would a doll, a play-thing, need self-awareness?"

"I was just... a doll... to him?" Cosmo said, tears stinging her eyes.

"Exactly!" sneered Salasine and Gnonine.

"And this beautiful doll shall meet her end up here in the beautiful sky!" Salasine held Cosmo up in Zheuque's right hand.

And several flying cameras turned on her, projecting images of the Zheuque from every angle all across the Great Freedom far below, and to every village above and below the surface across the planet Möbius.

"Attention, Möbians!" Salasine called out, bringing his mirror-staff to bear in his left hand. "The heart-stopping show is about to begin. The public execution of First Princess Cosmo Darkoak, for the crime of standing up to her father, the Helix King! This punishment shall fall on the head of _anyone_ who refuses to follow the King's will!"

But there, on a camera from above Cosmo, looking down on Zheuque's left leg, could be seen a small orange blur on the otherwise pristine blackness of Zheuque's body. The camera zoomed in.

It was a two-tailed orange fox boy, wearing digging goggles, a blue jacket bearing on its back a flaming skull with pointed shades, gloves, red-and-white shoes, and a fierce determination on his face. He held fast to Zheuque's leg by impaling it with a small drill made of emerald in one hand, and a larger hand drill in the other.

Everyone in the Great Freedom Fighters recognized him.

But could not believe their eyes...

"It can't be..." Sally said, looking up from her perch over Redpine and his Black Arms. "Is that...?"

Cosmo smiled in bright relief, looking down. "Tails...!"

Tails began to climb up Zheuque's leg, his two drills like pickaxes in the scaling of a huge mountain.

"I won't... let you have Cosmo!" he shouted.

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN:  
Why Do You Suppose We Were Born?**

Salasine Blacknarcissus's eyes bugged out.

"Impossible!" he said.

Cosmo appeared in his right eye; she was talking in proximity of his Zheuque, so the screen popped up.

"Do you see, Salasine?" she said fiercely. "Möbians may be small creatures indeed. But inside every chest of every Möbian beats a tremendously huge heart! They are _not_ dolls!" Her eyebrows furrowed. "And neither am _I_!"

All about the battlefield in the Mystic Plateau, Gizoids friendly and ferocious turned to observe this act of selfless heroism.

Most gaped in awe at his sheer determinacy, but none so much as those who knew how far Tails had fallen after Sonic's death.

Inside the cockpit of Zheuque, Blacknarcissus spazzed out. This was being broadcast all around the planet, potentially inciting _hope_ over fear in the Möbians...

But more importantly...

Zheuque's free arm tried to smack Tails off, but Tails climbed faster, feeling the wind sweeping by below him as Zheuque's arm and mirror-staff narrowly dodged him.

"H-h-how dare you defile my Zheuque's beautiful body with your dirty drill!" his voice rang out, belaying the menace of Zheuque's appearance, "Y-you little pest! You... you pesky little...!"

With his newly acquired haste, Tails had made it up to Zheuque's stomach. He resumed his climb, slower now.

"Cosmo... wait for me!" he said, his eyes on that clenched fist at the end of Zheuque's right arm.

Cosmo gazed at Tails in admiration and wonder.

Below, on the Great Freedom, Sally looked up at the projected image that was following Tails's relentless path up General Blacknarcissus's Gizoid...

And a bolt of lightning hit her, comprehension dawning.

"So _that's_ what he meant..." she muttered.

_お前の__XXX__で天を…_

_"Yeah," said Sonic, a wide grin on his face. "That mountain is shooting out flames that are setting the earth ablaze... Talk about a showdown of a lifetime! Now I'm psyched! We're gonna rock and roll tomorrow!"_

_"Still, you should try to be careful, Sonic," Sally warned him. "That Great MetaFlare is very dangerous, even if it _is_ pinned down."_

_"Don't worry," Sonic gave her a thumbs-up. "Tails will be with us."_

_"But, Tails is..."_

_Sonic removed his shades. Sally was shocked; his eyes showed profound _admiration_ in them! He said in a deathly serious tone to Sally, "Sally, I believe Tails will pull through tomorrow. After all, he's always the one who saves my ass." Sonic stared at his feet. "..._He's_ always the one who never gives up."_

_This was flew over Sally's head at the time, but she would come to understand it eventually._

_Sonic sat facing away from Sally._

_"He always moves forward, never giving up when he finds some goal to reach," Sonic said lowly._

_"Moving forward..." Sally repeated to herself._

_"This was before we met you, Sal," Sonic said. "We were digging our way out of Knothole, trying to escape to the surface. But the tunnel behind us caved in, and we were trapped. I... I was freaking out. I thought to myself, 'Why was Dad able to get to the surface, and _I_ can't?' My confidence was shot. All I had was empty bravado. It was all I could _do _to shout, 'Onwards and upwards!'. But Tails just kept on digging."_

_Sonic gave a small smirk. "By dumb luck, he broke through the last boulder back into Knothole right there."_

_He gave Sally a strong look. "We got lucky that day. But I believe in that luck, and in Tails, that plucky little guy who brought us that luck. So, whenever I feel like I can't do anything, whenever I feel scared, I think back to the sight of Tails's back, hunched over, digging away. I think to myself, 'I'll be a man who won't be laughed at by that back'."_

_今は準備が必要なんだよ__!_

Up of Zheuque, Tails had just about reached Zheuque's right breast, and he needed only to climb across its arm to free Cosmo.

Sonic's last piece of advice echoed in his mind:

_Listen, Tails. Never forget. Believe in yourself. Not in the you who believes in me. Not in the me who believes in you._

"Believe in the you..." Tails shouted aloud, vowing to himself to do so forever, "Who believes in you!"

And the Core Drill in his hand glowed like a small green star.

Tails's eyes were drawn to it in wonder...

And Zheuque's backhand knocked him clear off, his hand drill flying out of his hand as he flew past Cosmo.

"COSMO!" he yelled, reaching out to her. His fingers brushed her hair, blowing in the winds.

Cosmo's hands were pinned to her sides by Zheuque's fingers.

It was all she could do to call back.

"TAILS!" she screamed.

Inside Zheuque, Blacknarcissus was ecstatic.

"See that, Cosmo?" he grinned. "That is the fate that awaits these Möbians!"

Cosmo faced Zheuque's blank face with tears of anger in her eyes. "No! Just as Tails believed in his big brother Sonic, I believe in Tails!"

"What foolishness!" cried out Blacknarcissus in reply.

Below, Tails was trying in vain to get some sort of hold on any protrusion on Zheuque's body, but his fingers glided past everything, even the ridge at the base of the Gizoid's feet, the heat from the antigravity engines in its feet nearly making him break out into a sweat...

But as Tails fell from Zheuque, any reasonable hope of saving Cosmo fading away...

An even greater determination seized him.

"I won't die here!" he shouted to the heavens. "Cosmo is WAITING FOR ME!"

And the Core Drill pulsed again...

Below, the hangar of Great Freedom was filled with green light...

The hangar doors, closed in the emergency of the Great MetaSea taking half of the prow into its mouth, were suddenly rent by an Emerl-shaped hole...

And Tails landed in a familiar seat.

"Emerl?"

_Emerl is working for me again? _Tails smirked to himself. _Perfect timing!_

He drove the Core Drill into the center of the spiral-shaped meter.

"Emerl, Spin Start!"

Emerl stood reborn.

Above, the rim of Zheuque's mirror had sprouted razor-sharp buzz-saw teeth, and was lowering it towards Cosmo slowly, deliberately, and agonizingly.

"Watch! Cower! And then _die_!" Blacknarcissus cried out. "Ebony Mirror Chopp-..."

Emerl's drill shattered Zheuque's mirror, the buzz-saw teeth disappearing in bursts of pinkish-purple light.

Zheuque's right fist opened, Cosmo standing precariously on its pinky.

Emerl's canopy opened, and Tails leaned to the side, a fiery smile on his face.

"Cosmo! I'm here to save you! Come on!"

Tears of joy spilled down Cosmo's face as she awkwardly leapt from Zheuque's pinky, taking Tails's proffered hand in her own, pulling herself up and giving Tails an upside-down hug, her face buried in the soft fur of his chest.

"Tails!" she cried out in happiness.

The canopy closed, and Emerl emitted bright-green light, spiraling off into the clouds above Zheuque, shattering its entire weapon.

Righting itself, Emerl spun in circles above the five Meta-Gizoids, the canopy retracting again. Cosmo sat at Tails's right hand, where Sonic had sat when Emerl first activated.

They smiled at each other for a long time.

"Sorry I took so long," he said.

"It's alright," she replied, shaking her head.

"I understand now," Tails looked down at Emerl. "Emerl told me, too." He looked back at Cosmo, a brightness in his expression that had been missing for over a week. "I finally understand now!"

Cosmo brushed tears away from her face, a gentle smile for Tails. "I do, too.

"Thank you, Tails."

Tails nodded, feeling more alive than ever.

He wanted to show these Black Arms and Four Generals that he was back.

And it needed to be a big move.

Then he noticed it.

"See those flying Gizoids, Cosmo?"

"Hmm?"

Tails smirked. "I think Freedom Emerl just found wings to fly with."

_happily ever after_

"I need to get to Acorn Cannon!" Sally said, leaping down from her perch above the hangar, delivering a flying kick to one of the Black Arms below - "Thanks for the soft landing," she'd quipped - before turning her rifle Nicole on the Black Arms around her, firing away.

Then she was knocked aside by a brawny arm that was not from a Black Arms, Nicole flying out of her hands.

She looked up at her attacker.

Him.

Pale-brown skin with blood-red hair, dull-red thorns for horns, bright green eyes, a purple-and-green jacket.

Undenine Redpine.

"I see that you and your fellow Möbians have been using the Great MetaFlare as you pleased," he said gruffly. "You Möbians are not suited to use the machinery of a Seedrian of the planet Greengate!"

_Aliens_, Sally thought, rapidly modifying Nicole from a sniper rifle to a machine gun with the materials she carried around in her vest. _I should have known._

"I, Undenine Redpine, will now face you personally, so feel honored that I'm not holding back just because you're a girl!"

Sally turned Nicole on Redpine.

A spiraling field of red-orange light exactly matching Redpine's body area deflected all of Sally's bullets into the Black Arms behind him. Soon, green blood from the Black Arms soldiers behind Redpine spilled the deck, their entrails falling out of egregiously large holes torn open in their torsos, but Redpine was unharmed.

And Sally's only machine gun magazine was out of clips.

"It didn't work?"

Eyes widening, Sally ducked backwards under Redpine's fist.

"Get it through your head that this battle is hopeless..." He stepped on her ponytail as she tried to slide away, and pain wracked Sally's head. "...woman!"

And Redpine began to wail away on Sally.

Elsewhere on the Great Freedom's deck, Freedom, fallen onto its back now, had grabbed hold of the Goldion Hammer's handle as ARK-Hephaestus swung it at him. It was just too close; if Silver wasn't mistake, the very tip of Freedom's pointed nose was transforming into particles of light from contact with Shadow's newest weapon.

"Disappointing," said ARK-Hephaestus in Shadow's voice. "It's a shame, how disappointing this fight is, blue hedgehog. I had hoped our rivalry would last longer."

Freedom's arms snapped, and ARK-Hephaestus brought back its Goldion Hammer.

"Am I going to die... before he realizes I'm not Sonic?" Silver said, Freedom's controls going. _Will enough of me even be _left_ for him to realize I'm not Sonic?_ Silver as he closed his eyes, preparing for the worst...  
"Silver!"

Tails's face appeared in Silver's eyes, and he looked and sounded more _alive_ than he had in a week.

"Tails?" Silver couldn't help but smile.

"Let's combine!"

Silver grinned, "Yeah!"

And Freedom's screens filled with green light as Silver, exhausted, forced Freedom to roll.

"Tranform into light!" Shadow screamed, bringing the Goldion Hammer down on the Gizoid piloted by his most hated rival... but it rolled away! A hole glowing like the sun appeared in Great Freedom's deck.

"Damn you...!" Shadow shouted, turning to face Freedom...

Which clenched its fists.

"What are you trying to do?" Shadow asked.

As he did throughout the fight, the blue hedgehog did not broadcast any messages, but...

A green light appeared between Freedom's shoulders.

"What...?" Shadow looked up. "Don't tell me... Oh, _shit_!"

Emerl descended on Freedom, its drill rapidly burrowing into its shoulders, and in a burst of green light, Freedom Emerl stood reborn, and Freedom Emerl threw its shades at ARK-Hephaestus's right elbow, severing the Goldion Hammer from its host Gizoid again, the Gravity Shockwave Generating Tool deactivating as soon as signals from the ARK-Hephaestus stopped coming, the once-mighty weapon leaving a dent, and not a glowing hole, in the deck; and before the glow of Freedom Emerl's rebirth had even fully diminished, the mighty Gizoid leapt into the air, higher than it had ever leapt before, four of the spines in its back turning into drills and impaling a flying Gizoid from the Great MetaWind, the feathered Black Arms within evacuating herself at the last possible moment before it was integrated into Freedom Emerl...

All in less than five seconds.

Freedom Emerl's new flight engine fired up, a cross-shaped explosion of emerald light blasting out from Freedom Emerl as it hovered before Zheuque.

"What in the...?" Blacknarcissus gasped.

And then, as every camera in the vicinity turned on the reborn hero Gizoid, as all fighting ceased in an instant to observe this spectacle, as every Möbian, Black Arms, and Seedrian on and in Möbius stopped what they were doing and stared at a projection of Freedom Emerl...

Emerl's canopy opened, a two-tailed fox with his arms crossed, his tails and jacket flapping and waving in the torrential winds up there, stood atop the hero of Gizoids, the Gizoid of heroes, a Seedrian girl looking up at him in wonder...

It was not the time to perform.

It was time to be himself.

"My big bro, Sonic, is dead! He's gone!" Tails declared. "But he's on my back..." The mark of the Great Freedom Fighters was visible there. "On my arm..." Tails thrust out his left arm, the scrap of red cloth tied there visible to all the world. "And in my heart!" Tails pounded his right fist to his chest. "HE LIVES ON AS A PART OF ME!" His left hand pointed to the sun above. "If you're going to dig, dig towards the heavens! No matter what's in my way, I won't stop! 'Cause once I've dug through, THAT MEANS I'VE WON!"

All about the Mystic Plateau, eyes were trained in awe, shock, and admiration on the young boy from Knothole Village who had seen the worst happen to his surrogate brother, and come out stronger...

"Who the hell do you think I am?" Tails shouted. "I'm _Tails_! I'm not Sonic, my brother! I'm ME! TAILS THE DIGGER!" Pulling his digging goggles down, Tails returned to Emerl's cockpit, Freedom Emerl producing a drill from its right fist.

"Enough of your blabbering!" Blacknarcissus shouted from Zheuque. "You sound like a chapter from a self-help booklet!" Zheuque began to glow with a pinkish-purple light. "I'll finish you off with this...!" Dark-purple drills began to emerge from Zheuque's joints. "Great Zheuque Blacknarcissus Demolition Pl-..."

But he was interrupted midway through his attack name by Freedom Emerl pulling off its shades, doubling them in a flash of green light, and snaring Zheuque in its pair of shades.

Inside Emerl, Cosmo looked on Tails in worry. Tears were pouring down his face.

Tails took in every memory of Sonic he had, every time he had ever looked up to Sonic, every time he had hidden behind Sonic, every time he had _saved _Sonic, every time Sonic had depended on him to win... Sonic's death...

And let it all out.

Sonic was no longer here to help Tails, so Tails would do what only he could do...

"Finishing Move!" he shouted.

The drill on the end of its right fist grew to three times Freedom Emerl's size...

"**Giga...!**"

Tails pointed the drill at Zheuque, and it began to spin...

"**Drill...!**"

A whirlwind of green energy tore from Freedom Emerl's winged jetpack, tearing towards Zheuque...

"**DRIVER!**"

And with one last scream of defiance, Salasine Blacknarcissus was obliterated as the Giga Drill tore straight through him and the midsection of his personal Gizoid, Freedom Emerl pausing once it had cleared Zheuque a hundred meters away, its shades returning to one and affixing themselves to Freedom Emerl's chest-face again, as Zheuque disappeared in a final, definite explosion...

And the Great Freedom Fighters, one and all, cheered.

Inside ARK-Hephaestus, Shadow was in shock.

"Impossible..." he gasped. "The blue hedgehog was dead this whole time? He really... _did_ die on that day?"

Atop the Great MetaRock, inside Xuanwuo, Gnonine Pale-Bayleaf paled.

"The legendary Freedom Emerl..." he frowned. "...is going down here!"

And Xuanwuo leapt onto Great Freedom's deck again, brandishing its twin swords.

"Face me, Freedom Emerl!" he shouted.

But King Knuckles, Eliastriker, and Super Marine ran up to him. Super Marine's feet attached to each other, drawing out from its body to reveal spear-tips on the concealed ends of its small legs, forming a double-edged spear, its body retracting into a koala-shaped shield.

"KING KNUCKLES..." Knuckles's Gizoid took the shield and spear in hands, Marine's cockpit affixing itself to King Knuckles's back as it leapt on top of the Eliastriker like a steed.

"DELUXE!" called Knuckles, Meg, and Marine.

And they pinned Xuanwuo down, the Super Marine spear going into its left wrist, Eliastriker driving its cannon into Xuanwuo's right wrist.

"Wh-what...?" Pale-Bayleaf stuttered.

"Tails is busting his namesake up there!" Knuckles shouted. "We can't _all_ be sitting on our asses, doing _nothing_!" Meg and Marine joined his shout on his last word.

Eliastriker fired, and the Super Marine spear was jammed further in.

Xuanwuo's hands were severed.

Pulling itself free, Xuanwuo stood over them on the deck, a pale-green light coming from the insectoid Gizoid...

And Great Freedom's remaining arm grabbed it.

"Damn straight!" shouted Elias from the control room, hurling Gnonine's Gizoid towards the Great MetaRock.

On the deck, Sally was bruised, bleeding from a split lip, and still being assaulted by Redpine.

"It's over!" he yelled, sliding his tail around to whack her across the face.

Sally dove onto it, pulling a piece of Nicole's sniper rifle mode from off the ground - her sniper bullet magazine - and jamming the sharp edge as hard as she could onto Redpine's tail.

He did not cry out, but sweat beaded on his forehead, and his teeth clenched.

Sally produced a handgun that she'd kept hidden in her ponytail, pointing it at Redpine.

"Hate to break it to you, but this is the Great Freedom Fighters' ship," she glared at him. Her eyes were starting to burn. "It's our home that he gave his life so that we could have it! We're not about to let you have it!"

She pulled the trigger...

At the same instant that Redpine pulled sharply away, some layers of skin tearing off of his tail from the empty magazine jammed into it. He tore off back towards the Qyinlone, leaping over fallen Black Arms, dodging Sally's six shots in a way that he should have been too slow to avoid.

Qyinlone took off.

Sally cursed.

And then gasped as she heard a loud _whoosh_ next to her.

It was the Acorn Cannon, on a track. The hangar doors had opened while she was fighting Redpine.

"That's your Gizoid, isn't it?" Rotor's voice called out on the PA. "So use it!"

"Thanks, Rotor!" she called out, as Kukku flew in with a "Chao!" and settled in Sally's cleavage.

_回って回って回って回ってててて…_

Undenine Redpine's tail was paining him, but it was better than a bullet in the brain. He wouldn't have been able to concentrate on his protective field of Spiral Energy. Even now, he directed his Spiral Energy to speed up the healing process of his tail's torn skin.

"What the hell?" he growled, returning Qyinlone to the Great MetaSea. "Their spirits shot up all of a sudden."

Gnonine's face appeared in his eye. "Undenine, Freedom Emerl killed Salasine. I suggest that we abandon pretense and destroy these Möbians in one fell swoop. The ultimate advantage of the Compass Formation!"

"There are only two Helix Generals left, though," Undenine said lowly.

Shadow appeared in his other eye.

"I am here, too, Generals," he said. "I have returned to the Great MetaARK."

"Very well," said Gnonine. "Let us begin, then."

And a green cloud engulfed the four Meta-Gizoids still loyal to the Capital.

Great MetaRock, splitting down the middle, docked symmetrically on either side of Great MetaARK.

Great MetaSea, splitting along its midsection, docked into Great MetaARK's upper pair of Catapult Arms.

Great MetaWind docked beneath the other three combined Meta-Gizoids. At the tip of each X-tip, another cluster of blue lights activated to bear the additional load of three more Meta-Gizoids.

The final plates slid into place.

There, hovering over the Mystic Plateau, was a true behemoth of a Meta-Gizoid.

Its name was bellowed by its three commanders - Gnonine, Undenine, and Shadow.

"The Great Meta-Compass!"

**四天王完全要塞ギゾイド**  
**グレイトメタコンパス  
Four Generals Absolute Fortress Gizoid  
Great MetaCompass**

"Take THIS!" the three remaining Helix Generals shouted.

Every missile port on the four combined Meta-Gizoids opened up, firing on the Great Freedom even as it pulled itself one-armed out of its bedrock tomb.

The former Great MetaFlare vanished in a mushroom cloud of flames.

Gnonine laughed over the radio channel. "You couldn't have been expecting that, Möbian scum!"

Undenine added, "The Helix King's Generals are fighting seriously now, you pieces of trash!"

Shadow finished, "North, South, East, West... Earth, water, and wind... No weak point in the past, present, future, or the four directions! Feel the power of the absolute fortress, the Great MetaCompass, even as we send you _to the deepest pits_!"

When the smoke cleared, a green shield was just beginning to fade away from where Great Freedom was standing. The stolen Meta-Gizoid was undamaged beyond what had been incurred before the Great MetaCompass rose up.

And Freedom Emerl stood at the tip of the prow, the green energy shield dissipating into its Giga Drill.

"Don't give in, everyone!" he called out through Emerl's mouthpiece. "It's just a big light show!"

The Great MetaCompass's many loudspeakers boomed out in Shadow's voice. "Do not fool around, fox boy. I know you are scared!"

"The day I'm scared of you bastards again is when the sky itself falls, and that ain't happening anytime soon!" Tails shouted back.

Freedom Emerl held its Giga Drill to the sky.

"Finishing Move! **Giga... Drill... DRIVER!**"

Freedom Emerl launched towards the Great MetaCompass, its Giga Drill spinning faster than it had ever spun before.

It made contact...

With a spiraling green energy shield that enveloped the Great MetaCompass.

"_Don't screw with me!_" Tails screamed, letting loose with a long, loud yell as the Giga Drill expanded to five times the size of Freedom Emerl, spinning so fast it seemed to spin backwards.

Sparks flew from the drill.

"Tails, stop!" Silver appeared in Tails's eye. "You're pushing Freedom Emerl too hard!"

"I... almost... got i-... UGH!"

A sharp pain shot up Tails's right arm, and the Giga Drill cracked sharply, and Freedom Emerl flew back from the Great MetaCompass.

Generals Redpine and Pale-Bayleaf laughed triumphantly. "What do you think of our Spiral Shield, Möbian?"

Tails breathed heavily, holding his right arm tightly.

"Tails! Are you alright?" Cosmo asked anxiously.

Tails grit his teeth, nodding. "Let's try it again, Silver!"

"It's just too big," Silver said, appearing in Tails's left eye. "The Giga Drill Driver isn't big enough."

"So, we're gonna need a bigger drill..." Tails muttered. "But, where can we..." _I'm not gonna give up. Not until we can find a drill big enough to break through that shield..._

Rotor appeared in Tails's right eye. "Tails, I have an idea! Combine Freedom Emerl with Great Freedom!"

"Combine?" Silver said.

"If Freedom gets a big power boost from Emerl combining with it," Rotor said, "Then, theoretically speaking..."

"Some sort of _Great Freedom Emerl_ would be a lot more powerful than _regular_ Freedom Emerl!" said Tails, victory once again in sight.

Freedom Emerl tore off back towards the Great Freedom, feet-first as its Giga Drill dissipated...

"What's wrong, Möbian?" taunted Pale-Bayleaf. "Are you going back to your hole?"

...as the Giga Drill reappeared, engulfing Freedom Emerl's entire lower half, the Gizoid hero spinning into the air, and descending towards Great Freedom.

And Rotor's face appeared in the eye of every Gizoid pilot in the Great Freedom Fighters. "Everyone, get back into the Gizoid hangar! Things could get a little rough!"

And Tails's shout echoed for miles:

"FREEDOM EMERL... IMPACT!"

The now-abandoned control room once again was subject to a giant drill piercing from the ceiling into the floor beneath, torrents of green energy pouring into the machine.

In the No. 2 bridge, in the area of Great Freedom's teeth, Chris was baffled at something appearing at his computer terminal. "Rotor, we're receiving a transformation signal from Freedom Emerl!"

"Okay, Tails! So far, so good!" Rotor said.

And with two words, turned the tide:

"Hit it!"

Green energy erupted from all over Great Freedom's body, the hangar doors slamming shut as the Great Freedom's prow split in two down the middle, hovering in mid-air as they were connected to the Great Freedom by glowing green energy.

The shattered remains of Great Freedom's right arm, glowing green, raced back to their proper place, the Catapult Arm repairing itself in an instant, along with all the damage incurred to the Meta-Gizoid in battle. The two halves of the prow affixed themselves to the forearms of Great Freedom, green energy traveling up its arms and leaving yellow armor. The legs of the behemoth Gizoid became longer, a pair of bright-red shades identical to Sonic's appearing across its chest-face, a wave of green energy leading away from the newly formed shoulder epaulets of the Gizoid, transforming into a large red cape identical to the one Sonic had worn.

The transformation was complete, Freedom Emerl perched on top of Great Freedom's shoulders in the same way that Emerl was to the Freedom.

"Even when we're buried by the bedrock of despair," the newly-formed Gizoid blasted through its loudspeakers, in Tails's voice, "We Möbians have the ability to break through it to a new dawn!

"Belief Combining!

"_Great Freedom Emerl!_"

**グレイトフリーダムエメル  
Great Freedom Emerl**

Inside the Great MetaCompass, Redpine and Pale-Bayleaf paled.

"They transformed something that large...?" Redpine breathed.

"Must be their level of Spiral Energy," noted Pale-Bayleaf. "But they will not be able to control it for long. All missile bays, continue to fire! Send them down to the deepest pit of all!"

The missile barrage of the Great MetaCompass resumed, more intense than ever. Green flashes from each port indicated that there were more missiles being spontaneously generated within the Great MetaCompass.

_How can they possibly have that many missiles in that Gizoid of theirs?_ Tails wondered. _Is it... fighting spirit?_

Eventually, the barrage stopped, and the Spiral Shield generated by Great Freedom Emerl faded away, the Great Gizoid no more harmed than it was when it first appeared.

And Great Freedom Emerl lashed out, slicing off one of the levi-spheres on the underside of the Great MetaWind component of Great MetaCompass, the massive fortress Gizoid becoming imbalanced.

"No. 3 levi-sphere has been severed from the Great MetaWind!" squawked a Black Arms with black feathers and a red beak in the Helix Generals' eyes. "Unable to maintain stable altitude!"

"Do whatever you can to keep us level until we've destroyed these fools!" Redpine shouted at him.

"Y-yes, sir!" the birdlike Black Arms's comm channel disappeared.

In Freedom Emerl's No. 2 bridge, Rotor grinned in excitement. "It's a levitation device! Tails, see if you can incorporate it!"

"I'll try!" Tails called out from Emerl.

Drills emerged from Great Freedom Emerl's back, drilling into the levi-sphere which hovered aimlessly about the battlefield. Its blue lights did not so much as flicker. A green light began to play out on the lower portion of the Great Gizoid's back, and the drills drew the levi-sphere into the Great Freedom Emerl.

"Levi-sphere incorporated successfully, Rotor!" piped in Lupe's voice from the engine room. "Now we can achieve flight even in Great Freedom mode!"

"Möbian scum, taking our weapons of coercion...!" snarled Pale-Bayleaf. "We will teach you the meaning of the word 'fear'!"

"You can't make us fear you!" Tails shouted at the Helix Generals.

"Of course not!" added the King Knuckles. "With all these buddies at our side, what _is_ there to be scared of?

"The oldest of the Wandering Orphans, Knuckles!"

"Meg!" shouted the Eliastriker.

"Marine!" Super Marine called out.

"Vector!" called the Vector Prime.

"Mighty!" Mighty Fists shouted.

"Espio!" yelled Espionaj.

"Lobo!" shouted the O'Donnell.

"Big!" "Bark!" called two voices from the Double Bruiser.

"Silver!" Freedom shouted.

"Chao!" "Kukku and Sally!" yelled the Acorn Cannon in two very different voices.

"Cosmo!" Tails shouted from Emerl, eliciting a gasp from Cosmo, "And... Tails!"

Cosmo smiled at Tails.

And then, in a shout that shook all of Möbius, the Great Freedom Fighters shouted out from Great Freedom Emerl:

"WHO THE HELL... _DO YOU THINK WE ARE?_"

"Finishing Move!" yelled the Great Freedom Emerl in Tails's voice...

Great Freedom Emerl raised its arms over its head...

"**Great Freedom Fighters...!**" the Great Freedom Emerl bellowed in the voices of the Great Freedom Fighters.

It slammed both halves of Great Freedom's prow back together...

"**Giga...!**"

A Giga Drill three times the size of the Great Freedom Emerl emerged from the prow...

"**Drill...!**"

The Great Giga Drill began to spin, many different flares of green energy, each one contributed by every member of the Great Freedom Fighters, emerging from the grooves running down the length of the drill...

"**DRIVER!**"

Great Freedom Emerl's newly-incorporated levi-sphere redlined, blasting out a tornado of emerald-colored energy as it blasted at the Great MetaCompass as quick as a flash...

The Great MetaCompass's Spiral Shield broke in an instant...

And the Great Giga Drill broke effortlessly through the armor of the Great MetaRock which would have survived the bombardment of a dozen Great MetaCompasses with no damage to its outermost layer, piercing through the central control room and tearing Helix General Gnonine Pale-Bayleaf's body to pieces, his last thought being _But I have so much left to do_, and the Great Freedom Emerl tore straight through the Great MetaCompass, leaving a gaping hole behind it through the Great MetaRock and Great MetaARK, the power cores of the four Meta-Gizoids having been linked together in the combining now leading to a disastrous overload...

Shadow, having retreated to his ARK-Hephaestus, now stood on the peak of the Great MetaARK, looking for some manner of escape from this crisis...

When the Great MetaCompass below him exploded, the great chunks of burning debris falling to the Mystic Plateau below, erupting into a tremendous fireball that incinerated every lifeform inside.

Helix General Undenine Redpine's last thought was _Syne, I'm sorry..._

And all across Möbius, as the Great Freedom Emerl soared away from this battle, victorious over the last of the Helix King's Four Generals, cheers tore through every village aboveground and underground. The entire battle had been a gambit to induce absolute despair into ever man, woman, and child on Möbius, but instead, the camera Gizoids had broadcast a tide-turning victory for the Möbians to every village that was oppressed by the Helix King.

_We have an oppressor. But he can be overthrown!_ the cheers generally went. _Nothing can keep us from living on the surface!_

_お前の__XXX__で…_

ARK-Hephaestus had been severely damaged, beyond hope of utilizing it as a ride back to Greengate. Its legs had been blown apart by the Great MetaCompass's explosion, the entirety of the pristine-white Gizoid scorched black.

Its mouth fell open, but that was more from the locks of the Gizoid's jaws falling apart than from the pilot willfully opening it...

And a black-and-red hedgehog-shaped creature fell out, green blood dribbling out of the corner of his mouth.

Shadow looked around at the wreckage around him.

"Why...?" he gasped, baring his teeth. "Why am _I_ always the sole survivor?"

In the distance, he saw a tremendous caped figure sailing away on a stolen levi-sphere.

"Möbian scum... damn you to Hell!"

A flying Gizoid set down next to Shadow, its mouth opening and a hawk-like Black Arms flapping out.

"General Shadow, let me give you a flight back to the CapitACKH!"

Shadow grabbed the Black Arms bird's neck, and snapped it. Green blood leaked from its beak, its eyes staring blankly beyond the sky.

"The weaker the bird, the shriller the squawking," he snarled, walking over to the flying Gizoid.

_お前の__XXX__よ、そそり立て！_

Cosmo had said, "Tails, there's a place I would like you to take me," so Tails took her there.

To the valley of discarded princesses.

"This is the place where Tails found me," she gestured at the boxes lying about the valley floor. "And these boxes all contain past princesses. Hundreds of sisters I will never know, who were discarded by my father when he grew tired of them, over his two-thousand years on this planet."

Knuckles's eyes were popping in shock, "_All_ of these are princesses?"

Cosmo nodded sadly, "I would like to see them buried in a sunny place." She closed her eyes. "Please."

"O-of course!" Knuckles said quickly.

"No problem!" said Ari.

A few hours later...

It was sunset now...

And the burial of the last of the princesses was finished.

Cosmo stood over the burial site for her long-dead sisters, each grave marked by a tall pillar of stone.

"Father was my entire world," she said, the red gem on her chest gleaming in the sun's last light of the day. "I depended on no one but him, relied on no one but him. I did not even depend or rely on myself. That is why I wanted to rely on him to the very end." Cosmo was silent for several moments. "Why do you suppose we were born?"

"Cosmo," Tails said.

"Hmm?"

"There's a place... _I_ would like to take _you_," he said.

_親父の塊_

"So... the Four Helix Generals have been killed by a young man of the Spiral? And rebellion across this planet is inevitable?"

Shadow had never heard such fury in the Helix King's voice, and awaited the darkness of death.

"It seems that wherever you go, Shadow, cataclysmic failure is soon to follow," said the shadow in the throne, the concubines lying about him and laying their limbs along his body in suggestive poses. "Your failures are worthy of capital punishment."

"Helix King, I would gladly accept whatever you decide of me, even if it means my death," Shadow said, remaining bowed down, staring at his feet. "But first, there is something that I must know."

A moment of tense silence...

"Very well," the Helix King said. "Ask."

Shadow stood, staring into the Helix King's glimmering green eyes, averting his gaze from the lascivious actions of the King's concubines towards the man he spoke to.

"Are... Are Black Arms truly superior creatures to the Möbians?" he asked. "These Möbians..." Memories of humiliation ran through Shadow's brain, and he clenched his fists and teeth. "WHAT THE HELL _ARE_ THEY?"

The Helix King raised an eyebrow.

"It would seem that, in your obsessive urge to better yourself in the face of this particular group of Möbians, you have developed Spiral Power through sheer force of will, Shadow," said King Darkoak, standing from his throne (his concubines, no longer able to touch their beloved King, now kissed, fondled, and groped each other), walking down the dais.

Shadow's heart was pounding; what did His Majesty mean by _Spiral Power_? Was this a sign that his life could be measured in hours? Minutes? _Seconds_?

Before Shadow knew it, Helix King Lucus Darkoak stood before him.

"Follow me, Shadow."

The Helix King led Shadow to a hidden elevator just outside of the audience chamber, and pressed a button that read 'Level EEE'.

"Triple... 'E'...?" Shadow asked.

"I am taking you to one of the lowest levels of the Capital, Shadow," Helix King Darkoak said.

The elevator descended quickly, passing through levels of barracks for the Black Arms, loading docks for the Gizoids, reparation docks, lounges, recreation centers...

After a good five minutes, when Shadow wondered when they would reach the bottom, the walls on all sides turned to glass...

"We are now below the surface, below the Capital," explained Helix King Darkoak.

And before him, was an impossibly large ship, shaped like a drill, but with no grooves down its line. It was predominantly white, with yellow and blue highlights.

"Is... is this...?"

"This is not Level EEE," snapped the Helix King. "This is something which I hope never has the need to be launched. I need not explain it to you."

Shadow asked no more questions, as they descended beyond the docked starship, into darkness again.

After another two minutes, it stopped. Slowly.

The doors opened into darkness.

The Helix King roughly grabbed Shadow's hand, touching a switch on the wall. Dim red lights lit up.

"I am taking you to someone that I once fought, but who now serves me in a greater capacity than he could have ever imagined," Darkoak explained curtly.

"Who...?" Shadow asked.

"I will explain once we get there!" the Helix King growled, reaching a door made entirely of drills intersecting with each other.

He touched the drills, his fingers glowing the red of Möbian blood.

The drills retracted into the walls.

Shadow's eyes widened.

"Is... is that... a Gizoid? No, it can't be...!"

"It isn't," said the Helix King simply. "It is the source of all Black Arms life. He may yet be the only surviving member of his race. I do not know what his name was; I have codenamed him 'Black Doom'."

"Black... Doom...?" Shadow asked, looking up at the monster nailed up by its hands onto a large red cross, as large as any of the Four Helix Generals' personal Gizoids.

Three fiery eyes, staring into nothing... demonic horns pointing to his left and right... black, clawed hands with only two fingers and a thumb each... a large golden sword, impaling its chest... a torso that ended abruptly at the waist... green blood, leaking endlessly to a pool below...

"What... is all this...?"

"Black Doom was an opponent of mine whom I battled across the galaxy," the Helix King explained. "He served a higher authority, and purged himself of his Spiral Power to set an example of his allegiance to them. I eventually defeated him, but fled to this planet after his superiors proved too powerful to put down.

"Black Doom's species had two hearts; one was weaker than the other, but so long as one of his hearts still beated, he would still live. The larger of the hearts was the more difficult to pierce, but I managed it. This blade is that of my personal Gizoid, back in the Capital. With only his weaker heart still beating, Black Doom is still alive, but in a vegetable state; his brain has been deprived of nutrients too long, his secondary heart too weak to effectively supply his brain with nutrients.

"I needed live tissue samples to cross his DNA samples with those of the creatures of this planet."

"But, sire," Shadow said. "I hate to seem imprudent, but this does not answer my question."

But the Helix King continued, ignoring Shadow.

"Every member of the Black Arms is a unique species unto him- or herself. I did this so that I could accurately determine _exactly _how many Black Arms I had at my disposal."

The Helix King faced Shadow.

"Black Arms are imperfect creatures, indeed," Lucus Darkoak told his creation. "They must fall into a death-like sleep in order for their cells to continue to divide. If they were to push themselves to stay awake too long, they would inevitably die. And if one were to rouse a Black Arms from its sleep too suddenly, that Black Arms would die."

Shadow stared at the Helix King, the man who came from his own home planet beyond the stars and banished this planet's inhabitants to villages below the surface, for a very long time.

"Helix King, you are the one who created the Black Arms. Why give us such imperfect bodies?"

The Helix King smirked, holding out a hand.

"What are Möbians?"

A small drill made from Möbian-blood-red energy appeared there, spun for a few moments, then dissipated.

"Do you _really_ want to know the answer?" the Helix King asked. "Do you, Shadow?"

Shadow set his gaze, and gave his reply.

"Yes."

_続く世界_

Cosmo stared at the tattered red cape, tied to the sheathed katana, silent volcanoes surrounding them.

"So... this is where your Sonic is buried," she bowed her head in respect.

Tails nodded.

And reached into his pocket.

"Cosmo, take this," he said, trying not to look at her. Otherwise, she'd see his fierce blush.

"What is it?" she said, fingering the chunk of white crystal in her hand.

"I found it, while I was digging with Sonic that one time," he explained.

She smiled fondly at it. "It's lovely!"

Tails smiled at this, before looking with a sad smile at Sonic's grave.

"You were wondering why we were born, Cosmo?" Tails asked, and Cosmo looked up at him. "I don't really understand, but I don't think it really _matters_ why you were born, or even if you were a princess. The Cosmo here, now, that's who you are. That's all that matters, is that you live life as yourself."

Cosmo gave a warm smile, nodding at Tails.

Tails put his hands behind his head. "And I'll live life as myself as well. I can't be Sonic, but I have things that only _I _can do."

Sally stepped forward from the crowd of Great Freedom Fighters, Kukku resting in her cleavage. "Well, don't _I _feel dumb now," she said, giving Tails a significant look.

"Hmm? What do you mean, Sally?" Tails asked.

"I was the one here who was with you the longest, but I probably believed the least," she explained. "in you, and in Sonic, and even in myself."

"Sally..."

Sally smiled, "Well, I look forward to working with our new comrade," she nodded at a surprised Cosmo, "and our new leader!" and when she nodded at Tails, Kukku suddenly flew out of her cleavage, floating next to Tails's head and hugging it, his ball over his head turning into a heart.

"Leader? Me...?" Tails said, pointing at himself.

"Of course; you're the only one Sonic would've picked for the job," said Knuckles, smacking Tails in the back. "So hold your head a little higher for a change!"

Back at the foot of Great Freedom Emerl...

Silver turned to Rotor.

"The battles will continue, won't they? I mean, just because we took down the Four Generals..."

"Maybe," said Rotor. "But for today, the fighting's over, so just smile and laugh. It's for the best."

After a moment, Silver did as Rotor suggested.

Smiling towards tomorrow.

**つづく  
To be continued...**

**

* * *

**

次回予告  
Next Episode Preview

If you strike at a wall enough, it will eventually crumble.

In that case, we all continue to strike at the wall together.

Next time on _Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl_: _**"Good Day, Everyone"**_.


	18. Chapter 17

_(Chapter Seventeen. Some stuff from the first _Movie_ the past couple chapters. And a couple original ideas as well. This chapter eases back into the TV series a little._

_Honestly, I was floundering about while I was writing this. I mean, at this point in the TV series, two of the Four Generals were still alive. Here, not so much._

_Look for a reference to _Soul Eater _(which, incidentally, was also musically scored by Taku Iwasaki)!_

_The continuing world continues to endure battle and war...)_

**一****ヵ****月後  
One Month Later**

"Sonic..."

Tails gave the tattered red cape, flapping in the chill wind just before sunrise, a sad smile.

"I can never be you, Sonic," Tails spoke to the gravesite of his surrogate brother. "But I'm off to do the things... that only I can do." At Tails's side, Kukku shivered in the cold.

"The things... that only Tails The Digger can do," Tails said.

Behind him, Sally closed her vest a little more tightly.

"Tails, they're gonna be starting up soon," she said.

Tails half-turned away from the katana-cape marker of Sonic's burial site.

"Well... I'll be back, when this is all over, Sonic."

Tails turned to Freedom Emerl, behind Sally.

Sally made to follow him, but stopped a step later, and faced the sheathed katana, with Sonic's father's cape tied to it.

Her expression was tender.

As were her last words to the grave.

Then she climbed into Freedom's cockpit.

The cape billowed furiously as Freedom Emerl took off.

The hero Gizoid which personally slew two of the Four Helix Generals darted at top speed across the deep-blue sky of the early morning, over the near-countless bodies of smashed Gizoids, towards its destination:

Great Freedom.

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:  
Good Day, Everyone**

"Welcome back, you two," Rotor said, smiling. "You pay your last respects?"

"Tails, welcome back, welcome back!" Charmy buzzed up to greet Tails, Cream running behind him.

"Welcome back, Mr. Tails," she said cheerily.

Tails nodded at Rotor. "How are the repairs coming?"

Rotor looked up at the slender white Gizoid in the hangar behind him. It had green highlights, two small blue orbs on its head, a grass-green cape trailing from its head, and a red orb instead of a face in the center of its chest.

**ホワイトシード  
White Seed**

"Cosmo's Gizoid won't be ready for another couple of days," Rotor said lowly. "That battle yesterday really roughed it up."

"And Great Freedom's levi-sphere?"

"We'll be neck-and-neck with their starting time."

Tails gave a dark look to their target in the clouds beyond. "Well, make it quick. I get the feeling they'll be pulling out all the stops today."

"We will have to end this soon," Sally said, looking about at the people running about the Great Freedom's deck, the Gizoids undergoing last-minute repairs. There was an aura of anxiety in the air. "If we don't, we'll come apart at the seams."

Tails nodded resolutely...

And was stunned at the sight of Cosmo exiting the hangar. Though her White Seed was damaged in the previous battle, she'd miraculously escaped without a scratch.

"Good day, Tails," she smiled at him.

Tails's breath caught in his chest.

"What's wrong, Tails?" she asked, looking concerned, her head tilting to one side.

A blush crept across Tails's cheeks...

And he shook his head vigorously.

"Well, I'm... just not used to your new look yet, Cosmo," he said honestly.

True enough, Cosmo had changed her outfit since she discovered she was no longer a princess. She wore a grass-green jacket, bearing the flaming-skull-with-pointed-shades symbol of the Great Freedom Fighters on its back, over a plain white, strapless dress that went mid-thigh. She still wore her red gem in the middle of her chest. Her new shoes, going up to her knees, were white with green tips.

Cosmo frowned down at her outfit.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "Does it look odd?"

"No! It really suits you, Cosmo!" Tails said.

Cosmo's demeanor brightened immediately. "Do you mean it?"

"I sure do!"

Folding her hands behind her back, Cosmo closed her eyes as she smiled. "That's a relief!"

Tails and Cosmo laughed a little together. Sally and Rotor shared secret smiles; Tails clearly had a soft spot for Cosmo.

Tails suddenly felt small hands grabbing at his jacket's sleeves.

Charmy and Cream looked worried.

Tails smiled at them. "Don't worry. We can win this!"

"Really, Mr. Tails?" Cream said.

Charmy pointed up at their enemy. "But look at the size of it!"

Tails nodded again. "We can beat them!

"Who the hell do you think we are?"

It had taken them a long time to reach it, and a hellish amount of effort, but now, finally, they were within striking distance of a goliath jet-black drill well over three kilometers tall, its tip burrowed a significant distance into the earth, the grooves glowing a sinister blood-red. Clouds brushed past it just below the midpoint.

The final stage.

The Royal Capital.

Greengate.

**グリーンゲート攻略戦****・****6****日目  
Battle for Greengate****・****Day 6**

_髭__とハーレム_

Helix King Lucus Darkoak sat on his throne, his concubines dispatched to their hexagonal positions around his dais. A mammoth silhouette, its six arms crossed, stood motionlessly behind his throne.

Eternally patient.

Just like its King.

"It is said in ancient scriptures that the god that created the world in six days rested on the seventh," Lucus said.

"Sire?" the large silhouette boomed.

"It is an old religious belief of the fools who lived on this planet before even the Möbians," explained the Helix King. "And it is the sixth day since the Möbian scum have arrived here. Perfect timing, would you say?"

"Interesting notion, Your Majesty."

"Still, I am intrigued. In all this time, you have not pursued a battle with them."

"I can wait for _him _to come to _me_. I could wait _forever_ now, thanks to you, Helix King. Besides, I have a fine vantage point on the battlefield from here. And I must admit, they are a tenacious rabble. We keep stomping them out, and they keep coming back for more, just like weeds."

Lucus nodded. "That is what makes them so terrifying. And this... despite the fact that I and my four great friends - all now dead - sealed the Möbians underground, so that they would never again take root on the surface."

"It's the power of the Spiral, isn't it, Helix King?" replied the tremendous silhouette. "And they are so unaware of the fact that this power will only lead to their destruction."

"Ignorance is what allows them to fight," Lucus said. "I envy them."

_燃えてばかりでいいのかい__?_

In the engine room, Lupe toiled away at repairing the levi-sphere that was once the Great MetaWind's and was now the Great Freedom's.

The PA system crackled to life.

"Radar shows massive numbers of heat signatures approaching!" Blaze's voice echoed through the engine room. "They're bombarding us with missiles!"

Elias's voice cut in as well.

"Rotor, how much longer till the levi-sphere is operational again?"

There!

Lupe gave a quick thumbs-up to the walrus over her shoulder.

"We're all ready down here!" Rotor said into his microphone. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

Up on the bridge...

Elias grinned, showing many teeth.

"Alright!" he yelled. "Great Freedom, _ascend_!"

On Elias's command, Ari throttled the controls to the Great Freedom's levi-sphere, and the Great Gizoid slowly, surely... lifted off from the ground.

Not a moment too soon.

The curtain of missiles turned the earth it was once standing on into fire.

There, hovering before them, was a veritable swarm of Meta-Gizoids. There were all of similar design classes to the Great Freedom, but smaller. With the Four Generals dead, they were going for quantity over quality. Every last one of them was a bright purple.

And every one of them was launching enemy Gizoids.

"I'm on this!" shouted Bean, slamming the controls for the cannons. "With big guns, quantity is more important than precision!"

The enemy Gizoids had clouds of flame to fly through, so the sum total damage of Bean's random firing was limited to covering them in soot.

"We're not hitting anything..." moaned Bean.

"We'll have to send out our own Gizoid brigade!" Elias shouted.

Down in the hangar...

"That's our cue!" said Vector from Vector Prime.

"Mm-hmm," nodded Lobo inside O'Donnell.

"Try to keep up, Knuckles," taunted Mighty.

"Of _course_ I will!" smirked Knuckles. "Who the hell do you think I am?"

"Knuckles of Gawain Village, the oldest of the Wandering Orphans," said Eliastriker in Meg's voice.

"Wha...?" Knuckles's arms unfolded, a slightly alarmed look on his face. "Meg, what're you...?"

"I'm here, too, mates!" shouted Super Marine.

"_Marine_? You, too?" King Knuckles faced Super Marine. On one of Knuckles's monitors, Marine was snickering.

"We're going out there to help you, whether you want us to or not," said Meg seriously.

"Besides, we want to avenge Sonic, too," said Marine.

"Y-you guys..." Knuckles said.

Blaze's face appeared on all three of their Gizoids' monitors.

"Knuckles, Meg, Marine. I will take care of problems here on Great Freedom," a smile crossed Blaze's face, "So you three can give the Black Arms hell!"

Knuckles sighed heavily, then grinned. "Okay, then! Let's show these slackers the power _of the Wandering Orphans_!"

Meg, Blaze, and Marine gave cheers.

Two at a time, the Great Freedom Fighters' Gizoid brigade strode out on to the deck and, picked up by Great Freedom's Catapult Arms, were tossed into the empty void, already over a thousand feet off the ground.

Thankfully, the battles the past five days had given them access to Gizoid-sized levi-spheres from the enemy's flying Gizoid, jury-rigged onto their undercarriages.

Flares of blue energy blasted from the levi-spheres, and the Great Freedom Fighters' Gizoid brigade took to the sky.

Freedom Emerl rose up onto the deck.

"Sorry for the delay, Freedom Emerl," said the 'ROTOR - SOUND ONLY' panel in Tails's eye. "Ready to initiate combining?"

"When you are!" Tails said.

"Good luck, Tails!" said Sally, from Acorn Cannon, in Tails's other eye.

"Let's do this, Tails!" said Silver, below in Freedom.

"Alright!" Tails yelled, Emerl's screens going green.

Freedom Emerl's wings deployed, green energy flaring from the levi-sphere in its flying Gizoid component, the Gizoid flying up above Great Freedom's bridge, a drill appearing around Freedom Emerl's legs and driving into the space between Great Freedom's shoulders (the vantage tower had been abandoned after the battle with the Great MetaCompass).

In the month since Tails became the leader of the Great Freedom Fighters, he had figured out the exact amount of force needed to initiate transformation into Great Freedom Emerl, while still ensuring the safety and integrity of those in the bridge. And secure restraints had been installed throughout Great Freedom for people - and objects - in the emergency event that Great Freedom Emerl performed extreme maneuvers in battle.

The prow split, attaching to now-bulky arms.

Legs extended, becoming more flexible.

A cape appeared. As did large red shades.

The blue light of Great Freedom's levi-sphere turned green.

A shout rang out that shook the Capital down to its foundations.

"_Great Freedom Emerl!_"

And the Great Gizoid flew off to take the rear position of the Great Freedom Fighters' Gizoid brigade.

"Alright, you guys! Let's do it to it!" Great Freedom's mouth moved in time to Tails's orders.

Knuckles's grinning face appeared in Tails's eye. "Well, well! Looks like the amateur has become a full-fledged commander now! You take care of the big ones, we'll deal with the little ones!"

"I'm on it!" Great Freedom Emerl charged ahead, its cannons still blazing, the Great Freedom Fighters' Gizoid brigade dodging around it.

Knuckles broadcast out to Marine in her Super Marine. "Alright, Marine! Let's do the you-know-what! We're gonna combine, too!"

"Okay!" Marine gave a thumbs-up.

Super Marine entered spear-and-shield mode, King Knuckles taking each component in each hand as Marine's cockpit separated and attached to King Knuckles's back, riding on the Eliastriker piloted by Meg.

"KING KNUX DELUXE!" Knuckles roared out. "Let's take 'em down!"

"Yeah!" called out Meg and Marine.

King Knux Deluxe led the Great Freedom Fighters' Gizoid brigade in the charge against Greengate's Gizoid brigade.

And so the sixth day of the battle for Greengate commenced.

"So it's begun," Elias said, strapped into the captain's chair. "It's all down to whose fighting spirit is greater."

The elevator opened, and Rotor, secured in a motorized chair affixed to a track in the floor, entered the bridge.

"How are things going up here?" Rotor asked.

"We've avoided their opening gambit," Elias replied, "But this battle is only beginning."

Blaze piped in from the radar station. "A large Gizoid reading has entered our range!"

Indeed, just beyond the red-tinted shades now adorning Great Freedom's face, a large air carrier Gizoid could be seen. It bore a dark-green color scheme as opposed to Great MetaWind's purple hue. Below, it carried a missile almost as large as the Great Freedom's prow.

**仮説飛行要塞母空型ギゾイド**  
**グレイトメタクラウド  
Provisional Aerial Carrier Fortess Gizoid  
Great MetaCloud**

"Is it the Great MetaCloud again?" Elias asked.

"It is," said Chris, pulling down the binoculars. "They've dispatched Blackbull against us again."

"Doesn't matter!" called out Tails from Freedom Emerl, above them. "We're gonna take them _all_ down!"

The spiral meter on Emerl's display lit up white. Then green.

And green light glowed from the drill that had impaled into Great Freedom's bridge. Bean noticed and stopped firing, mostly because the buttons he was mashing were glowing as well.

Every cannon on the Great Freedom Emerl glowed green, a drill-shaped missile flaring into existence in each barrel, launching out with a trail of green light behind it, drill-missiles continually respawning and launching behind them.

Each drill missile impacted against an enemy Meta-Gizoid.

The space between Great Freedom Emerl and the Great MetaCloud erupted in flames and smoke.

_狼が来た__!_

In the center of the Great MetaCloud's bridge, there sat a large slug-like Black Arms, red on its back, black on its belly, a pair of feeble wing-like appendages on its back, with a single green eye over a mouth large enough to devour any Möbian whole.

**交換螺旋四天王ブラックブル  
Replacement Helix General Blackbull**

And Blackbull's jaw was slack with shock at what had just happened.

But Blackbull recovered quickly.

"Very interesting, Möbian..." When Blackbull spoke, it was low, and slow, and ominous. The replacement General then turned to one of the smaller, feathered Black Arms at a console. "Set all batteries to fire at will! Let them get nowhere near the Capital! Burn them and their Gizoids to ash!"

"Yes, sir!" squawked the lieutenant.

_合体なんてクソくらえ__!_

Tails was exhausted, that much Silver could tell, once the barrage of Spiral Missiles had abated.

"Tails, doing that with Great Freedom Emerl is different from Freedom Emerl alone!" he said over his channel to Tails. "You've got to pace yourself."

"Gotcha," Tails gasped. "You take over for now."

But Silver did not get to do much as the pilot of the Great Freedom Emerl.

Mostly because four Meta-Gizoids, having avoided Tails's missile massacre, took hold of Great Freedom Emerl's arms and legs, keeping it stuck in place.

"Crap!" Elias swore. "We're stuck!"

Elsewhere on the battlefield, King Knux Deluxe, Vector Prime, and Mighty Fists met in a brief lull.

"This isn't good!" Vector hailed Knuckles. "Great Freedom Emerl is in trouble!"

"Can't you guys go and back 'em up?" Knuckles asked.

"Get real!" Mighty said. "We've got our hands tied as it-..."

More enemy Gizoids flew in, on the kill.

"Goddamn!"

"Shit!"

The three Great Freedom Fighter Gizoids parted, returning to the fray.

The Acorn Cannon having dealt a finishing blow to its current target, it discharged the empty magazine on top of its head and, removing one of the two extras affixed to its underbelly, attached a new full one, reloading.

And Sally looked to the Great Freedom Emerl with dread.

"Guys...!"

And another enemy Gizoid flew in, drawing her away from her friends.

Blackbull's face appeared on Great Freedom's monitor.

"It was a wonderful experience knowing you, Möbians..." Blackbull boomed.

"Blackbull..." Elias growled.

"But know that your defeat was as inevitable as the sun setting!"

The missile mounted below the Great MetaCloud launched.

"I'm gonna blast it outta the sky!" Bean raised his fist to mash the fire button.

"No!" Rotor called out. "The barrels need to cool after Tails's missiles launched! If you fire now, the Great Freedom Emerl could explode!"

Bean clenched his fist, "Crap!"

In Emerl, Tails grit his teeth. "Sonic..."

On Great Freedom's monitor, Blackbull let out a long, slow laugh. "It's over...!"

And the missile exploded...

Less than halfway to Great Freedom Emerl.

_ラップは漢の魂だ__!__無理を通して道理を蹴っ飛ばす__!__俺たち大グレン団のテーマを耳の穴かっぽじってよ～く聴きやがれ__!_

Back in the Great MetaCloud, Blackbull flailed his vestigial wings about in anger.

"HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?" he bellowed.

"It's cannon fire from the Möbians!" the Black Arms on radar clucked.

"But their weapons couldn't possibly have been able to fire after that!"

"Sir, the fire isn't coming from one vessel!"

"_What?_"

Back with Great Freedom Emerl...

Tails's energy had been rejuvenated, and he pulled Great Freedom Emerl's limbs away from the restraining Meta-Gizoids, smashing their levi-spheres in the process.

"What was _that_?" Elias asked.

Blaze looked down at the radar. "On the eastern horizon! To the east, there's..."

Hearing this unfold in the bridge below, Tails looked out to the east, to his right.

A cloud of dust was dissipating on the horizon.

When it cleared, Tails heart skipped a beat.

Dozens of Meta-Gizoids, the size of the battalions unleashed on them this day of battle. But they were all different colors, featuring different decals painted on the sides.

But the one thing they all had in common was...

"Sonic's flag!" Tails's grin could have split his head in two.

A green hawk appeared in Tails's right eye, and on Great Freedom's monitor below.

"Hey there, Great Freedom Fighters!" he said in a high, scratchy voice. "Need a little hand out there?"

"Who are you?" asked Rotor.

"We're villagers who saw those images in the sky," replied the hawk.

"You mean... when the Four Generals attacked?" Elias asked.

The hawk nodded, "I'm Jet, and I hail from Lamorak Village! Nice to meetcha!" A green Meta-Gizoid at the head raised an arm.

A gray albatross appeared on the monitor as well. "I'm Storm, and I'm from Babylon Village!" he said in a very gruff voice, as a gray-painted Gizoid beside Jet's put a fist in the air.

A purple swallow appeared beside them. She said, "I'm Wave, and I'm from Hudson Village! We've been hijacking enemy Gizoids, too!"

"That big-ass drill is the head honcho, right?" asked Jet.

"Y-yeah..." said Elias, smiling despite himself.

"Well, don't sweat it!" Jet gave a thumbs-up. "With Jet of Lamorak Village on your side, victory is assured!"

And the reinforcement Meta-Gizoids opened fire on the Great MetaCloud and the few remaining enemy Meta-Gizoids.

Amongst the Great Freedom Fighters' Gizoid brigade, feelings soared.

"Look, everybody!" called out Double Bruiser in Big's slow voice. "We got new friends, and they're helping us out!"

Knuckles's grin showed through King Knux Deluxe's features.

"C'mon, guys! We can't let them have _all_ the fun!" And he drove the Super Marine Spear into the flying enemy Gizoid he'd been hijacking (Meg in Eliastriker had taken on a separate enemy Gizoid).

_ブラックブル_

Panic was king on the Great MetaCloud's bridge, and Blackbull's single eye was wide with fear and rage.

"Möbians...? More Möbians?" he growled. "_When did this horde of Möbians get here?_"

The screen lit up one by one with avian Black Arms, each wearing an expression of intense anxiety.

"Armor plating is taking heavy damage!"

"No. 3 levi-sphere has been hit! Output is destabilized!"

"General Blackbull, I suggest a temporary withdrawal."

This last touched a nerve.

"NO! We _must_ hold them here, no matter what!"

And that's when Blackbull realized that he was the only one left in the bridge. Everyone else had fled.

And that Great Freedom Emerl had just clasped its hands together over its head, its prow as one.

And that this oversized knife was swinging _down at him_.

"A knife...?" squeaked Blackbull in fright.

The flaming wreckage of the Great MetaCloud - falling in two pieces - crashed to the empty landscape below.

_回って回って回って回ってててて…_

The Great Freedom Fighters cheered. As the battle had progressed those many hours between the opening missile gambit and this destruction of the Great MetaCloud, the Great Freedom Emerl and its Gizoid and newly acquired Meta-Gizoid brigades had moved under the rim of the Capital itself, the high noon sun eclipsed by Greengate itself.

But nothing could block the feelings of jubilance at this enemy's defeat. They had fought many Meta-Gizoids in the long path to the Capital, but now...

The Helix King was all that was left to take care of.

Suddenly, a beam of light shot out from a window on the side of Great Freedom Emerl's hangar...

And an image of Cosmo, the size of the Great Freedom Emerl itself, appeared beside it.

"Good day, everyone," she said, addressing the new Meta-Gizoid battalion. "I am Cosmo Darkoak, the head cook of the Great Freedom Fighters." She bowed towards them.

They bowed back.

"Now that we have defeated the Great MetaCloud, and its General Blackbull, our next target is this Royal Capital, Greengate," Cosmo explained, smiling brightly. "It may seem like a real challenge, but Tails will have no problem taking it down."

"How can one little kid do all that to that thing?" called out Jet's Meta-Gizoid in Jet's voice.

Cosmo's brows furrowed. "I say this... because Tails's drill..." Cosmo pointed to the sky, a smile once more appearing on her round face. "Is the drill that will pierce the heavens!"

"You said it, little lady!" Knuckles intoned from King Knuckles - Super Marine had reconstituted when the Great MetaCloud - pointing up at the Capital directly above them. "We're gonna take out the Capital now, so everybo...dy..."

The reason Knuckles had trailed off was because the Capital's shadow over them seemed to be growing.

No.

It wasn't growing.

Something was_ falling_ towards them.

The Gizoid brigade narrowly dodged a skyscraper falling on them.

Cosmo's skyscraper-sized image showed an alarmed expression, then cut out abruptly.

On the bridge, Bean was spazzing. "Big-ass buildings are falling this way!"

Rotor could not believe his eyes.

"_What in the world is going on...?_" he shouted.

_王都_

"This is the tale of a man who continues to fight his destiny..."

_グリーンゲート_

"Tails!" Silver appeared in Tails's eye. "We should pull back!"

"Y-yeah!" Tails acquiesced.

Great Freedom Emerl spun around, green energy pouring out of its levi-sphere as it tore backwards away from the Capital, swerving to avoid the falling buildings.

Some Meta-Gizoids were not so lucky.

Tails froze in horror at the sight of Jet, Storm, and Wave's Meta-Gizoids getting caught up in the chaos of the Capital's collapsing, and being smashed by one of the skyscrapers falling from Greengate.

"Ari, take emergency control!" Elias ordered. "Get us out of here!"

"Got it!" Ari said, spinning the helm wildly to avoid the falling debris.

After several hellish minutes, the Great Freedom Emerl had managed to escape from the danger zone, though whether their Gizoid brigade had made it out alive was a whole other story.

"Great Freedom Emerl!" Knuckles's face appeared on Great Freedom's main monitor.

"We read you, Knuckles," Elias said. "Status? Where's _Meg_?"

"We're all fine here, including Meg," Knuckles replied, "But... what the _flying FUCK _is going on?"

"The Capital seems to be collapsing on its own," Rotor told him.

"I can _see_ that!" shouted Knuckles. "But _why_?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Elias waved his hands, trying to calm Knuckles down.

"Look!" Chris pointed at the thick clouds of smoke and dust kicked up by the Capital's hundreds of falling skyscrapers. "In there!"

Everyone did...

And refused to believe their eyes.

"It's huge..." breathed Charmy, from a window below, in the Great Freedom's main body.

In Freedom, Silver's eyes were wide with disbelief.

"I... I can't believe it!" he breathed. "It's a...!"

As the smoke cleared, a distinct silhouette of three long necks and two large, bulky, winglike arms became visible...

_超特大__ギゾイド_

"In that instant, destiny took shape...

"And revealed itself to the man."

_グレイトメタレックス_

Tails's stomach dropped out on him. Hidden inside the Royal Capital of Greengate for two-thousand years, larger than any other of its type that Tails had ever seen, was...

"A Gizoid!"

**超特大****ギゾイド  
グレイトメタレックス  
****Special Super-Large Gizoid  
Great MetaRex**

**つづく  
To be continued...**

**

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**

次回予告  
Next Episode Preview

The wall crumbles, revealing the dark monster behind it.

Even so, all it takes to banish darkness is a little light.

Next time on _Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl_: _**"Thank You, Tails"**_.


	19. Chapter 18

_(Chapter Eighteen. This certainly came out fast, given my time constraints with work and all, right?)_

_

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_

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:  
Thank You, Tails**

The Great Freedom Fighters in Great Freedom Emerl, and in the Gizoid brigade, and in the surviving Meta-Gizoids, stared in numb shock up at the unbelievably large Gizoid before them, the sun beginning to set behind it, casting it in a demonic silhouette. Through the smoke, they could see that, from left to right - from their perspective - the three dragon heads were jet-black, dark-purple, and pale-green. A torso like an impossibly large tree trunk connected the Great MetaRex's three heads to a blood-red left arm with long, clawed fingers, and a yellow right arm ending in a large hammer head.

"Look at the size of that thing..." breathed Elias.

"Something that size has to be breaking a rule here or there," Rotor quipped.

Suddenly, Blaze's radar began to beep loudly. She looked down at it.

"I'm picking up another Gizoid reading, in the middle head," she said, narrowing her eyes. "This pattern looks..."

Blaze's eyes widened, and beneath the white fur of her muzzle, she went pale.

"It can't be!" she said.

"What's wrong?" asked Rotor, taking his mobile chair over to Blaze.

"This reading..." Blaze said.

And in three words, she stunned her comrades.

"It's Freedom Emerl!"

"_What?_" everyone present chorused at once.

"There's a Gizoid reading from the Capital's center head that is completely identical to Freedom Emerl's!" Blaze explained, sweat beading on her forehead.

Looking over Blaze's shoulder, Rotor could see it plain as day. There was the spiral-shaped marker on Blaze's radar indicating Freedom Emerl directly overhead, and another, identical reading in the center of what was once Greengate.

Inside Emerl, Tails pulled down his digging goggles.

And Freedom Emerl disengaged from Great Freedom, its prow returning to normal, its shades, arm armor, and cape dissipating.

"Tails! Where are you going?" Sally asked from Acorn Cannon.

"What do you think? I'm going to see what that other Freedom Emerl reading's about!"

But flying Freedom Emerl up so high was a significant chore for Tails; he'd never done it before, and needed to continually push himself to generate the spirit necessary to reach the level of the central head.

After flying straight up for a good minute, Tails was level with the purple head's emerald gaze.

"Wait!" he said, zooming in with Emerl's magnification vision. "There's a tower between its horns. And... is that...?"

Emerl's projected images of an extreme close-up of the Capital's highest tower showed a dull-purple creature seated on a throne atop a spiraling dais. His only facial features were green eyes and a mouth currently turned down in a frown. His long purple hair went down to his waist, and he wore only a black jacket with red trim.

"Father!"

All eyes on the Great Freedom's bridge went to the elevator doors.

Cosmo was standing there, staring intently at the glowering person on the monitor.

"Then that means..." Elias said, facing the screen again.

"That's the Helix King..." Rotor continued. "Lucus Darkoak."

"Correct," said the Helix King.

Everyone gasped; he could hear them?

"You weak-willed souls, who cannot sustain the willpower to live in your holes..." he said. "You weak-willed souls, who would rather run in a world you think is free, but is really an endless prison...! I shall show you the meaning of terror, with this... my _Great MetaRex_!"

Kilometers above Great Freedom, Tails's brow furrowed.

"As if we'll let you do that!" he shouted to the Helix King in his eye. "I'm gonna take you down!"

Freedom Emerl put its right fist in the air...

"**GIGA...**"

A drill three times Freedom Emerl's size emerged...

"**DRILL...**"

And, the drill now spinning rapidly, Freedom Emerl beelined for the Helix King's tower...

"**DRIVER!**"

And the Great MetaRex brought up its left arm, halting Freedom Emerl's unblockable Finishing Move with a single finger.

In Great Freedom's bridge, stunned emotions ran wild.

"Is that... what it can do...?" Elias said numbly.

Up in Emerl, Tails screamed in fury, his fighting spirit rising even higher until all the world around him went green.

Though the torrents of green energy pouring from Freedom Emerl's levi-sphere would have engulfed the Great MetaRex had Freedom Emerl been aiming the other way, the titanic Gizoid's finger did not even shudder.

"And to think that I am not even using my Spiral Shield," droned the Helix King, idly raising his left hand. "Is this all you can do, Möbian? Pathetic."

He flicked his forefinger.

Great MetaRex's forefinger twitched, but at that scale it sent Freedom Emerl flying violently away, the shards of its now-broken Giga Drill falling to join the fallen skyscrapers of Greengate.

"TAILS!" shrieked Sally in Acorn Cannon.

Great Freedom caught Freedom Emerl.

"Nice catch!" smiled Rotor.

Tails's image appeared on Great Freedom's main monitor; his eyes were spinning as he groaned in pain. Kukku's floating ball had become a spiral.

"Are you alright, Tails?" Chris asked.

"Somehow..."

Before Tails had even fully replied, Silver's image appeared beside Tails.

"I can't believe it," he said, returning himself to a right-side-up position. "The Giga Drill Driver couldn't penetrate that thing's armor."

Cosmo stepped up to the main screen.

"Tails, I must ask something of you," she folded her hands in front of her chest, a serious expression on her face. "I want you to take me to my father."

Tails cocked an eyebrow. "Cosmo...?"

"I would like to speak to my father, Tails," Cosmo repeated.

"That's insane!" cut in Silver. "Darkoak isn't gonna let us get near him, never mind getting you close enough to talk to him! We should pull back and formulate a long-range plan of attack, not go charging in when we're still tired from the day's fighting!"

Rotor gave Silver a steady, serious look. "Silver, this girl came all this way so that she could give her father a piece of her mind."

"But that's-..."

"Silver, you might wanna remember this for when you get a girl," Rotor waved a finger in the air as he smiled. "When a girl sets her heart to something, a man is obligated to help her do it."

Cosmo's expression did not falter. "Please, Tails."

Tails nodded.

"Sure thing," he smiled. "Let's go, Cosmo!"

Silver looked at Tails, flabbergasted. "Are you serious, Tails?"

"You better believe it!"

Knuckles appeared in the corner of Tails's eye. "I'm going, too, Tails!" Knuckles looked quite irritated. "If I don't go up there and kick that guy's tail, I won't be able to live with myself!"

The other Gizoid pilots of the Great Freedom Fighters - apart from Sally - appeared and expressed their own eagerness to punch Darkoak out, drag him through the dirt, and kick him in a very sensitive area. Even Kukku jumped in front of Tails and put a small Chao fist in the air with a cry of "Chao-chao!"

"You guys..." Tails muttered.

Sally appeared, finally. She looked _incredibly_ tense about something.

"Sorry, guys, but I don't think getting near that thing is very likely."

"What do you mean, Sal?" asked Knuckles roughly.

Acorn Cannon pointed at the Great MetaRex...

Which was rearing up, blood-red energy appearing in all three dragon heads' jaws. The purple dragon head and neck remained perfectly static, though.

And the Helix King said:

**"FINAL..."**

The dragon heads fired off the blasts, converging in front of the purple head...

**"NOVA!"**

And fired off a tremendous beam that turned the sky red, and would have vaporized the Great Freedom and Freedom Emerl had it not veered sharply to the side, courtesy of Ari.

The blast tore a hole in Möbius's crust. After a few moments, magma spurted out of the new fissure.

The Great Freedom Fighters, all of their hearts pounding rapidly from that near-miss, thanked their lucky stars that the rebellion didn't end then and there.

That was altogether _too close_.

**"Impressive, Möbians," **boomed the Great MetaRex. **"You dodged this Great MetaRex's ultimate attack. But still... can you withstand the brunt of the Helix King's **_**Meta-Gizoid Armada**_**?"**

And countless hatches as small as stars in the sky opened up along the Great MetaRex's torso.

And Gizoids the size of the Great Freedom Fighters' recently acquired Meta-Gizoid squadrons began pouring out. Blotting out the sun.

"Silver was right," said Elias. "Darkoak _isn't_ just gonna let us walk up to him."

"How many of them _are _there?" Lobo asked, his hands shaking slightly.

"This looks like a right bonzer blue, right, Meg?" asked Marine, grinning in her Super Marine.

Meg nodded at Marine on her monitor. "Mm-hmm," she grinned. "With this many enemies to fight, we can finally show _the whole world_ what the Wandering Orphans are made of!"

A grin returned to Knuckles's features in King Knuckles.

"You guys..." he grunted.

"Right, Knux?" Marine asked.

"Yep, she's right." Then Knuckles shrugged. "But she's wrong about one thing."

"Hmm?" Meg and Marine were confused.

"It ain't the power of the Wandering Orphans that we're gonna show the world."

King Knuckles pointed to the heavens.

"It's the power _of the Great Freedom Fighters_!"

His fellow Gizoids followed suite, cheering heartily.

On the Great Freedom's main screen, Knuckles faced Tails.

"Alright, Tails!" Knuckles grinned. "You get Cosmo, and we'll open up a path for Great Freedom!"

"Knuckles..." Tails was stunned.

Vector's image muscled Knuckles's aside. "When you get there, give Darkoak a couple whacks from each of us!"

Kukku flitted up and nuzzled Tails's ear, his floating ball turning into a heart.

Tails's brows set. "Got it!"

Freedom Emerl floated up to Great Freedom's right eye, holding out its hand. At his station, Chris tapped a button, opening one of the diamond-dust windows that made up Great Freedom's eyes. A blast of hot air rushed in, and Cosmo held down the front of her dress to keep people from seeing her panties.

Freedom Emerl's hand was just outside of the window now.

"Let's go, Cosmo!" Tails said brightly.

Without hesitation, Cosmo leapt onto Freedom's hand, the Gizoid's arm moving to Emerl, which opened the hatch on top of its head. Cosmo leapt into Emerl's cockpit, sitting astride Tails's waist.

"Thank you, Tails," she said.

"Are we all set?" he asked her.

"Yes!"

Nodding, Tails closed Emerl's canopy, and Freedom Emerl took to the fore of Great Freedom's prow, folding its arms.

"Great Freedom, _launch_!" Elias ordered.

"Launching!" acknowledged Ari, thrusting the helm forward.

Great Freedom's levi-sphere glowed like a blue star, taking the Great Gizoid into the air. The surviving Meta-Gizoids and the swarms of Möbian-piloted Gizoids followed the Great Freedom Fighters' super-sized Gizoid even as the Capital's armies brought them into a midday eclipse.

So they would fight in the shade? the Great Freedom Fighters thought.

Bring it on.

_ファイナルノヴァ_

"What tenacity they show, Your Majesty," the silhouetted giant behind the dais said.

"Indeed," Lucus replied. "They hijack our army, and thus increase their own numbers. That is the only reason they have made it this far."

"No."

"Hmm?" the Helix King nearly turned in his chair. "You disagree with me?"

"The reason they came this far, was because of _him_. The flames of revolt were brought forth by that blue pest: Sonic The Hedgehog. Their obstinacy... Are they even afraid of _death_?"

"Do the Möbians frighten you?"

"No, sire," came the response. "Not anymore. I do not even fear death anymore. I have no reason to. Now, I only fear their Spiral Power."

Lucus nodded in assent.

"Good."

_Then you will have no trepidation about traveling amidst the entirety of all Möbian life_, Lucus finished in his mind.

_happily ever after_

No matter haw many Gizoids the King Knux Deluxe sliced through, at least two more seemed to fly in to replace it. The sun had practically set by now, and everyone was getting tired from a long day of battle.

"Damn it! There are so many of them!" Knuckles groaned.

Sally appeared in his right eye.

"What good will complaining about it do?" she snapped. "We can't afford to lose here!"

"Good point, Sal!" Knuckles grinned at her, as Acorn Cannon swapped out its apparently empty magazine for a full one.

"That's right." There was a powerful fire in her eyes now. "We have to win here, so that the people who died for us won't have died in vain!"

"And that's why...!" said Tails, from the head of the Great Freedom's prow, "We'll win for sure!"

Even so, even as their armies clashed against those of the Helix King, even as no quarter was given or taken in this most bloody of all battles, no progress had been made in their advance on the Great MetaRex. On the Capital.

Until...

"There's a thin patch on the left!" Blaze said, the tip of her nose almost touching the radar screen.

"Ari!" Elias shouted.

"On it!" came the reply.

With a rapid spin of the helm, the Great Freedom tore towards that thin patch of enemy Gizoids.

But the Great MetaRex was raising its right arm at their advance, preparing to smash them with that large yellow hammer it had in place of a hand.

At the tip of Great Freedom's prow, as the Great Gizoid red-lined its speed gauges, Freedom Emerl produced a Giga Drill from its right palm.

"We can do this..." Tails growled, "If we pool Freedom Emerl's strength with Great Freedom!"

Up in the Great MetaRex's throne room, the Helix King gave an amused smirk.

"Oh? But the end result will be the same," he smirked darkly.

The hammer was _very close now_.

"LET'S GO!" shouted Elias and Rotor.

With a great crunch, Great Freedom embedded its prow wholly into the head of the hammer.

If their calculations were correct - having come at the Great MetaRex from its right side - the Helix King's throne room was separated from them only by the hammer's head.

So...

"FIRE!" screamed Elias and Bean.

All batteries on the Great Freedom's prow launched their arsenals, which also included delayed time bombs that embedded within the framework concealed within the layers of molecularly bonded steel that formed the hammer's head.

The greatest volleys, though, tore straight through the hammer and to the other end of the head.

"Guys, I can see light from the other side!" Tails shouted.

This confirmation was what they needed.

"LAUNCH THE KNIFE ANCHOR!" Elias shouted.

The entire prow separated from Great Freedom, green energy pouring from the end as it tore its way through the few remaining supports, flying through empty space in a great parabolic arc, before burrowing itself in the tower perched atop the Great MetaRex's purple dragon head.

The Helix King looked up at the cloud of shattered glass raining down from the right-hand side of his audience chamber.

As the glass cleared, there was the Knife Anchor fired off from the stolen Great MetaFlare.

And on its tip...

Freedom Emerl.

Lucus couldn't help it. He chuckled, impressed.

This would be interesting.

Back in the bridge of Great Freedom...

Cheers erupted...

"We got you up there, just like we promised, Tails!" Elias cheered.

...And these cheers were quickly put down when the Great Freedom bucked violently in an explosion.

Chirs was leaning over his computer screen, "There are fires breaking out all over the engine room and the main shaft!"

Lupe's voice broke out over the PA system.

"Rotor, that was all this Great Freedom could give," she said.

"That's okay," Rotor replied. "We're just about done with her. Now all we gotta do, is tuck her in for the night."

Elias nodded at Rotor, just as Tails and Cosmo appeared on Great Freedom's monitor.

"What was that explosion?" Tails looked worried.

"Don't worry about us, Tails," Elias said. "You go get Darkoak."

"But-..."

Sally's image appeared beside Tails and Cosmo.

"You heard my brother. _Go!_"

Tails's expression showed no small degree of shock now. "Sally...?"

"Go on, Tails! This what we've all been fighting so hard for!"

Tails's face was screwed up in thought for a moment, and he finally nodded in acknowledgment.

"Got it."

Up in the Royal Capital's audience chamber, Freedom Emerl leapt from the former prow of Great Freedom, hovering down to face the final boss: Helix King Lucus Darkoak.

"Well, time for your last mission, Great Freedom," Rotor said solemnly. This magnificent Gizoid had done so much for them - sheltered them from the cold rain the week after Sonic had died - stood its ground against the four Meta-Gizoids piloted by the remaining Helix Generals - destroyed the last two Helix Generals - single-handedly took down Blackbull - and now, its line of duty was finished.

Elias called out to Ari and Bean, "Prime the detonators on the time bombs and explosives in the cargo bay!"

Ari pushed a few buttons and pulled a lever. "Timers set!"

Bean hammered several buttons, exposing a red one under a glass plate, punching through the glass with his right fist. "Blow 'em up!"

"Emergency... ejection!" Elias, Rotor, and Chris cried.

At their separate stations, Elias, Rotor, and Chris hit the buttons that needed to be hit at the same time, signaling that Great Freedom - and its jury-rigged levi-sphere - would eject from the brace that had connected it to the Knife Anchor from the moment of its construction.

Fortunately, the cargo bay - and the explosives - were in the brace.

So Great Freedom was a great distance away when the explosives and time bombs went off, the combined concussive force of all the detonations turning the great yellow hammer into a cloud of smoke and fire. Blackened chunks of yellow metal fell around the remains of Great Freedom as it hovered slowly to the ground.

"Sayonara, Great Freedom," Rotor said quietly, his eyes closed.

Sally had managed to extricate herself from the fighting long enough to look up at the Great MetaRex's purple head.

"It's all down to you now, Tails," she said to herself.

_そのまま黙って燃えてくれ～天におわす神_

Great Freedom touched down not too gently less than a hundred feet from the dais where the source of all of Möbius's troubles sat. Six women of varying different species - including a woman of Cosmo's species; was it her mother? - stood around the throne in a hexagon.

"I am impressed that you have made it this far," said the Helix King, a red gleam entering his green eyes, "Young man of the Spiral."

_Spiral?_ Tails thought. _Don't think about that; we have to finish this as soon as Cosmo's had her words with him!_

Freedom Emerl took a step forward, Tails preparing to open Emerl's canopy...

And leapt to the side to avoid a flying kick from another Gizoid.

Freedom Emerl entered a battle pose, looking over its newest threat.

Its six arms were currently folded, and a crowned head sat atop its shoulders. There were two more faces on its chest. The enemy Gizoid was a polished, pearly white.

**アークケルベロス  
ARK-Cerberus**

"Nicely dodged," came a familiar voice from its three mouths. "As expected of you, fox boy."

A flash of light, and six swords were drawn.

"I've been waiting."

Tails's expression was of mingled surprise and anger.

"Shadow!"

**つづく  
To be continued...**

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次回予告  
Next Episode Preview

I came all this way, just to tell him this:

That it is possible for me and the Möbians to exist peacefully in this world.

Next time on _Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl_: _**"I Will Head Towards Tomorrow"**_.


	20. Chapter 19

_(Chapter Nineteen._

_Well, this is it, guys. The final battle (is it?)._

_It was a fun ride (can it be over already?)._

_But all good things have to come to an end (do they?)._

_Enjoy!_

_...Oh, and the answer to all three questions is 'No'.)_

Helix King Lucus Darkoak gave the two circling brawlers - the Great Freedom Fighters' trump card, Freedom Emerl, and Shadow's greatest Gizoid yet, the ARK-Cerberus - a dully amused gaze.

This would be over quickly. He knew it.

"I'm a whole new Black Arms today," came Shadow's energized voice from ARK-Cerberus.

"What do you mean?" came the young voice from the Spiral Power Magnification Conduit Interface - or 'Emerl', as the Möbians naïvely dubbed it - atop the Möbian Gizoid.

The young voice reminded Lucus of himself at that age.

_I was a young fool then, with foolish ideas_, he thought. _But foolish ideas are never meant to last..._

_For in the end..._

_You learn of despair..._

Shadow was speaking again.

"My body has been modified into one which can recover from _any_ wound, light or mortal, and which can go on fighting indefinitely without need of rest!"

ARK-Cerberus charged.

"I am the _ultimate life form_...!" Shadow roared, ARK-Cerberus swinging its half a dozen blades at Freedom Emerl wildly, every single swing a potential fatality for Freedom Emerl.

None of them hit.

Freedom Emerl dodged just enough that the black blades wielded by Shadow's Gizoid missed by mere millimeters.

ARK-Cerberus brought its swords back.

"And this place will be your grave, _fox boy_!" Shadow cried, bringing all six swords down on Freedom Emerl.

Freedom Emerl caught all six blades at once. In one hand.

"_What?_" Shadow shouted.

Freedom Emerl clenched his fist.

All six blades shattered. ARK-Cerberus's three faces showed shock.

"Why...?" Shadow asked.

Freedom Emerl brought its right fist back. Four drills emerged from its wrist, aimed for ARK-Cerberus's chest.

ARK-Cerberus's arms caught the drills, but the drills kept spinning wildly, tearing its limbs apart. Bringing up its last two arms, these two arms were torn apart as well.

"_Why can't I defeat him?_" Shadow screamed, no small amount of panic in his tone.

Lucus spoke.

"Shadow, you pour creature."

ARK-Cerberus's sole head turned to face the dais.

"Your Majesty?"

"I didn't grant you your immortal body so that you could do battle," Lucus said bluntly.

Then, in a blast of the fox boy's pure, emerald-green Spiral Power, ARK-Cerberus - what was left of it - was smashed against one of the glass windows arranged in a circle around the audience chamber at the peak of the Capital.

All this time, the six concubines standing around Lucus's dais had not budged so much as an inch.

Through the hole torn in ARK-Cerberus's chest, a charred form emerged.

"Y-Your Majesty..." it said, loose flesh crumbling from its body. In moments, it had regenerated into Shadow.

"Shadow, there is no possibility of a Black Arms defeating a Möbian who has awakened his or her Spiral Power. This end result would have been the same had I _not_ sealed your Spiral Power once more; I did not want you to suffer under any illusions from a prolonged battle..."

"Illusions, Helix King...?" Shadow asked in a mutinous tone.

"It is true that I granted you a body that can not die or be killed," Lucus frowned at Shadow, not even turning his head from Freedom Emerl, looking at Shadow out of the corner of his eyes. "But it was not so that you could fight.

"It was so that you could be a storyteller, who will recount from now until the heat death of the universe itself the victory of the Helix King."

Shadow's face showed mingled shock and fury.

"_Your storyteller...?_"

Lucus grinned, "I am glad that you catch on so quickly, Shadow. Now just lay back in the wreckage of your Gizoid and watch. Observe the fate of a foolish Möbian. And then tell all who will listen, until the very end of time itself, of the futility of raising the flag of rebellion against the Helix King."

It was at that moment that "Emerl"'s canopy opened...

And stepping out was...

"Cosmo," Lucus said simply.

**CHAPTER NINETEEN:  
I Will Head Towards Tomorrow**

"It's been a long time, Father," Cosmo said sharply.

"You're looking well," the Helix King said to his daughter lazily. "I never expected to see your face again."

Cosmo decided to cut to the chase.

"Why are you doing this, Father?" she asked angrily. "You seal the Möbians away underground, and kill them if they come to the surface. It's horrible! Why would you do something like that?"

Lucus stared up at his daughter for several moments.

And Cosmo was shocked when Lucus began to laugh.

"Ignorance is indeed a frightening thing," he said. "You may believe yourselves to be in the right, but I am Möbius's _true _protector. I, Lucus Darkoak, am the one who is your defender from unimaginable horror."

"What do you mean?" Tails said, standing up behind Cosmo.

"There cannot be such a thing as a guardian who kills his charges," Cosmo furrowed her brows. "Don't you see that there is something terribly wrong with the world because of you?"

Lucus glared up at Cosmo. "Cosmo, the world I have created on this planet is the only way it can survive. You and your Möbian friends have disrupted that world, and I cannot allow you to continue to exist. For the sake of Möbian life..." A crimson gleam appeared in Lucus's eyes, and a low rumble echoed below his dais. "You must die."

A dark-purple drill broke through the floor in front of the dais, aimed for Cosmo's throat.

Quickly removing its shades, Freedom Emerl deflected the drill.

Cosmo fell from her foothold in front of Emerl and screamed.

Freedom Emerl caught her in Freedom's other hand.

The dark drill retracted into the dais.

"The Power of the Spiral is strong within you," said Lucus, standing up from his throne. "But that is a power which leads only to destruction." The spiral-shaped dais retracted until it was level with the floor. "Allow me to teach that to you."

Suddenly, the spiraling black garments around the Helix King's concubines expanded into tremendous black Core Drills, and the concubines disappeared into them with a last sensual moan each. As the large Core Drills began to glow red, a horrific crunching sound echoed from each.

Cosmo's eyes widened in horror.

"To show you the futility," Darkoak continued, as the Core Drills that were once his concubines drilled through holes in the floor, and the dais lowered still more and retracted under the audience chamber floor.

Darkoak and his throne descended still further, into darkness.

His voice echoed up, "You are not the only one who has awakened their Spiral Power. Though you have slain my four oldest friends, who too have awakened their inner Spiral, you will not be so lucky with me.

"Allow me to show you the awesome and terrible nature of _true_ Spiral Power..."

Red light filled the audience chamber as a horned silhouette taller than Freedom Emerl emerged from the hole where the throne once was. Outside, stars filled the sky, and the moon shone down through the open-air ceiling.

"Using my Huenlonix!" Darkoak's voice echoed from the figure, a mechanical modulation to his voice now.

It was a dark, sinister shade of purple, a green orb in the middle of its chest, and in the middle of its face, with a black cape hanging from each spiked epaulet. A pair of silver horns extended from its head.

"Father...?" Cosmo said uncertainly, from Emerl's cockpit.

Tails's heart leapt into his throat, looking at the readouts on Emerl's main display.

"Th... That's a Freedom Emerl-type!" Tails cried out.

**真****・****螺旋王****機  
ホゥエンロニックス  
Helix King's Personal Gizoid  
Huenlonix**

"Is that... the source of the identical Freedom Emerl reading?" Silver blanched. How could they possibly fair against someone with a mecha functionally identical to their own, who had potentially infinitely more experience than they did?

Huenlonix uncrossed its arms and leapt into the air, high above Freedom Emerl.

"Cosmo..." Tails said. "I have no choice but to fight him."

Cosmo nodded. "Right."

Freedom Emerl dodged Huenlonix's attack, and the dark double left a tremendous crater where Freedom Emerl was moments before.

Ripping its shades from its face, Freedom Emerl prepared for another attack from Darkoak.

However, Darkoak braced himself, brushed Freedom Emerl's arm to the side, and kneed it into the air.

Silver cried out in shock.

Before Tails, Cosmo, or Silver could recover, Huenlonix leapt up and kicked it into a glass wall, sending shards falling to the ground three kilometers below.

Freedom Emerl pulled itself up just as Huenlonix charged, the final enemy Gizoid swinging its arm in an attempt to separate Emerl from Freedom. Parrying with its own forearm, Freedom Emerl brought its other fist around to bust Huenlonix's chest orb, but met Huenlonix's corresponding fist instead.

Returning its shades to its face as Huenlonix brought its other arm about, Freedom Emerl grappled with Darkoak's Gizoid.

Darkoak began to push them back.

"A long time ago, there were once many who fought exactly as you do, Spiral boy," the Helix King boomed. "And they, too, were unaware that their actions would lead to absolute extinction."

"What do you mean?" Tails demanded.

"You don't need to know," Lucus replied shortly. "You'll be dead soon, anyway."

Bringing its leg around in a spinning kick, Huenlonix kicked Freedom Emerl away. Digging its feet into the throne room floor, Freedom Emerl pulled off its shades again.

Huenlonix extended a spear-like drill from its left forearm, intending to impale Freedom. As with the prelude to this final battle, Freedom Emerl's shades deflected its course, the drill shattering a window. Bringing up its other arm, Huenlonix fired a good five thin drills at the Great Freedom Fighters' - no, Möbius's - trump card.

Tails decided to end this. Now.

"_Finishing Move!_"

Freedom Emerl's shades tore through the drills like paper, splitting into two pairs of shades as it collided with Huenlonix, the Helix King's personal Gizoid spinning like a top as it was brought into the air in the center of the throne room, its cape completely obscuring its body beneath.

Inside his Huenlonix, Lucus Darkoak scoffed.

Inside Emerl, Tails screamed...

"**GIGA...!**"

Freedom Emerl produced a drill three times its size from its right fist...

"**DRILL...!**"

Pointed it at Huenlonix, and it began to spin rapidly as green energy poured from Freedom Emerl's integrated jetpack/wing set...

"**DRIVER!**"

And Freedom Emerl tore off to the Helix King's Gizoid, the instrument of destruction owned by the tyrant who enslaved the citizens of Möbius in underground villages, murdering them on the surface, and the Giga Drill made contact...

The cape unfurled.

Its arms, one over the other, were paralyzed above and below the Giga Drill which threatened to pierce its emerald core. They had produced a series of dark-purple drills, resembling a set of jaws now.

The drills had pierced the Giga Drill.

With a grunt of effort from Darkoak, he brought Huenlonix's arms together, and the Giga Drill broke.

"It can't be!" Silver gasped.

Huenlonix tore its arms apart from one another, shattering Freedom's shades.

In retaliation, Darkoak uppercutted Freedom Emerl into the air.

Red flames of energy engulfed Huenlonix, now resembling a demon king.

"**AUGER STORM!**"

Twenty-four needle-like drills emerged from Huenlonix's body, impaling Freedom Emerl against the glass wall.

After a moment, they retracted into Huenlonix's body, the red flames extinguishing themselves.

After another moment, Freedom Emerl fell to the floor.

It lay there for a long time.

Inside Freedom's cockpit, Silver was in shock.

"It's impossible... We can't beat him..."

Tails and Cosmo appeared in his right eye.

"Don't give up!" Tails said. "Kicking common sense out and going _beyond_ the impossible is how the Great Freedom Fighters do it!"

Tails's brows met. "Silver, believe in me! Believe in me who believes in you!" Tails smirked. "We still have some fight left in us!"

With a good deal of effort - Huenlonix's Auger Storm had pierced many of Freedom Emerl's joints and important areas of citcuitry - the Great Freedom Fighters' greatest Gizoid returned to its feet.

"You have enough energy left to stand, I see," said Lucus in Huenlonix's cockpit, which he knew had identical configuration to the cockpit of the "Emerl" part of Freedom Emerl. He smirked, "However, it is a wasted effort!"

Huenlonix lunged with its right fist.

"We'll see about that!" Tails retorted, four drills emerging from Freedom Emerl's left wrist, meeting Huenlonix's right fist... and shattering its arm up to the elbow.

Lucus raised an eyebrow in shock; no one had _ever_ damaged his Huenlonix before.

Not even _them_.

Still, it would be best to catch him in a Catch-22, a situation where no matter what choice the fox boy made, he would lose.

A drill emerged from Huenlonix's midsection, driving through Freedom's gritted teeth and out the back of the cockpit.

"_SILVER!_" Tails screamed, fearing the worst.

Silver's face appeared in his left eye. He was crouching in a corner, a large purple drill going through where he normally sat. Beads of sweat were on Silver's face.

"I'm alright, Tails!" he said in a slightly high voice, still slightly panicked from this near-death experience. "But now's your chance! Use Emerl!"

Tails was struck with indecision, then determination overtook him.

"Gotcha!"

Emerl launched off of Freedom, which turned from yellow to silver and hung a good twelve feet off the ground with its now-shorter legs.

"Go away," said Darkoak shortly and sharply, retracting the drill which impaled Freedom and, just for good measure, smashing it to the floor with his remaining fist.

Huenlonix looked up as...

"**EMERL... IMPACT!**" Tails screamed as Emerl descended with its drill towards the Huenlonix, intending to crush Darkoak inside its head.

Huenlonix brought up its remaining hand, letting the drill impale into its palm. Green energy began to move down the arm from Emerl's drill.

"So, you intend to convert my Huenlonix, do you?" Lucus said menacingly.

At once, Huenlonix's entire left arm detached and exploded.

"It self-destructed?" Tails said in shock, Emerl landing on its feet just in front of Huenlonix. Emerl was small enough to be stepped on by Darkoak.

"I see now," Huenlonix's synthetic voice said. "You made it here on much more than simply luck. However, the battle ends here, fox boy. Now that you have lost your main body, you have lost any chance of victory."

"_Quit bullshitting around!_" Emerl yelled in Tails's voice.

Within, Tails's expression was full of resolve.

"I'm not going to lose! Cosmo, Sally, Silver, Rotor, Knuckles, Elias, and all the rest of the people in the Great Freedom Fighters believe in me!" A grin crossed Tails's face. "The me that Sonic believed in... The me that _I_ believe in... Isn't possibly gonna lose _to the likes of YOU!_"

Emerl was engulfed in green light, drills as large as the miniature Gizoid itself emerging from its fists as the fired-up Tails let out a scream.

Inside Huenlonix, Darkoak grit his teeth. "Interesting, Möbian. In which case... _I will pull out all the stops to CRUSH YOU!_" Red flames of Darkoak's unique Spiral Power filled Huenlonix's cockpit. "_**MEGA AUGER!**_"

Long, purple drills emerged from every inch of Huenlonix's body as red flames emerged from its back, the entirety of the Helix King's Gizoid being submerged in the converging drills, until all that the Huenlonix was was converted into a large, needle-like drill.

Mega Auger.

_合体なんてクソくらえ__!_

The battle around the Capital had been going on for hours now, into the long night and into the early hours of the morning.

There was a pinprick of green light, like a distant star, on top of the Great MetaRex's purple dragon head. And it was surrounded - no, _engulfed_ - by a torrent of crimson flame.

"_What the...?_" Knuckles's eyes widened inside King Knux Deluxe as he looked up at the Great MetaRex.

One at a time, every Gizoid pilot - Möbian or otherwise - stopped what they were doing and looked up at the battle unfolding above them all.

Through the flames, they could make out the shape of a drill that was more like a needle, pressing down on a drill that was glowing like an emerald star.

_Come on, Tails...!_ Sally thought, in Acorn Cannon.

_メガオーガー_

Inside Emerl, Tails felt a tremendous burden on his shoulders, as though some very muscular man were pushing him down.

Still, he fought it, and forced more of that green energy out of his body.

He had to win.

Here.

And now.

Or it was all for nothing.

He had to create a world where people could live under the sun without fear.

Beside him, Cosmo felt the same.

Even if her father had to meet his end here...

The two of them let loose with a single scream, a scream of persistence, a scream of endurance, a scream to let Lucus Darkoak know that they, as Möbians, would not let him choose the way they lived life...

A crack appeared in Huenlonix's Mega Auger.

Darkoak's eyes widened in disbelief.

Then, the Mega Auger shattered.

Emerl's Giga Drill buried itself in Huenlonix's chest, shattering its chest orb. Green light poured from fissures in purple metal.

A bizarre grin overtook Lucus's face.

"I should have known I couldn't trust a Gizoid... _to get the job done!_"

From Tails's perspective, Huenlonix's face orb shattered outwards, revealing a face identical to Emerl's own, but black, and with a three-pronged yellow crest vaguely resembling a crown. Emerging from its opening canopy, Helix King Lucus Darkoak emerged, burning with red Spiral fire, coalescing around his fists.

He walked straight down Huenlonix's ruined body...

Brought a fist back...

And (to Tails's horror and shock) punched it clear off, snapping Emerl's Giga Drill.

Darkoak, liberated from his Gizoid, delivered crushing punches and kicks to Emerl, eventually knocking it down to the floor of the decimated throne room.

The canopy sprang open, and Cosmo and Kukku flew out, Cosmo hitting her head against a piece of the floor that had been torn out when Freedom Emerl skidded to a stop.

Cosmo blacked out...

"Chao... Chao..."

Cosmo woke up to a splitting headache, and Kukku shaking her awake. Rubbing her eyes, Cosmo looked up at the eastern horizon. It was a very faint green. The sky itself was a very deep shade of blue.

_Morning is coming_, she thought. _We've been fighting all day and into the next?_ No wonder Cosmo suddenly felt so tired.

The sounds of creaking metal and weary groans...

Cosmo looked.

Tails and Emerl were clearly on their last limbs; Tails could barely keep Emerl standing, and Emerl was battered badly in several areas, one of its arms bent back so that its forearm was not straight.

And her father, swept up in his Spiral Power flames, was approaching.

"Tails!" she cried out from her spot on the ground.

But Tails brought Emerl's fist around and struck her father.

Darkoak just laughed, and returned the strike. Emerl flew back ten feet, landing on its face.

With a growl of effort, Tails pulled Emerl up, and charged.

Darkoak and Emerl grappled.

And Darkoak was winning.

Silver, having emerged from Freedom, and Shadow, amidst the wreckage of ARK-Cerberus, watched with disbelief.

The outline of a drill appeared from Emerl's third eye on its crest, but a full drill did not materialize.

"The drill... won't come out..." Tails breathed raggedly.

"What's wrong?" Darkoak did not sound the least bit exhausted. "Has your Spiral run dry, Möbian?"

Cosmo, with all of her strength, watched how Tails continued to fight for her, even into exhaustion, and pulled herself up to her knees.

"Tails..." she called out. "If our belief in you is what gives you your power... then... I'll believe in you with every fiber of my being!" Tears stung her eyes. "So please! Win!"

Darkoak ripped out Emerl's arms. Tails gave one last gasp of pain, and then fell forward onto Emerl's control console.

Cosmo's heart turned to ice.

"I haven't had so much fun in a long time, fox boy," growled her father, his Spiral fires dissipating. He grabbed Tails by the head. "Now, I'll send you into the deepest pit of all, _myself_!"

He pulled Tails out and began to drag him across the throne room.

Neither he nor Cosmo noticed that Tails had removed his Core Drill from Emerl.

He reached the edge.

"FATHER! _Please don't!_" Cosmo shrieked.

Darkoak turned wholly to face his one remaining child.

"Cosmo, you will never understand why I did what I did..." He scowled at Cosmo; he had no smile to give her, sinister or otherwise. "Because I will do the same to you when I-..."

Cosmo understood immediately why her father had stopped speaking, and could not believe her eyes.

Tails had brought his arm up and drove his Core Drill into the center of Darkoak's chest.

Darkoak looked down, refusing to believe this.

"A..._ Core Drill...?_" he said weakly. _Of course, he would need one to have activated that device in the first place_, he thought detachedly.

And when Tails spoke, it was quiet, but building, and filled with fire.

"I'm Tails... The leader of the Great Freedom Fighters, Tails The Digger. If you decide to be a wall that's standing in my way... I have something that will tear a hole open in you every time!"

Silver gaped.

Shadow's eyes widened.

Cosmo smiled weakly.

Tails furrowed his brow.

"And that something... _is my DRILL!_"

Tails turned the Core Drill.

The sky turned emerald-green.

When the smoke and dust kicked up by the explosion cleared, Tails & Cosmo, supporting each other, were shocked to see that Darkoak was still standing on the edge of the throne room.

Especially since there was now a hole torn straight through his torso, and the skin around it had been scorched black. The remains of blackened organs and bones could be seen inside the rim of the hole through the Helix King's chest by the Core Drill.

"I see..." he was talking, but very weakly, which was surprising, given that his lungs had to have been vaporized. Tails and Cosmo could barely hear him "So... your Spiral Power outstripped mine in the end..."

The reason Lucus Darkoak had remained alive after he should have been declared legally dead, was because of his drive to tell Tails and Cosmo of what he knew.

He looked to the two who supported each other: the fox boy who was the potential harbinger of Their wrath, and to his sole surviving daughter who was Their potential Messenger, and laughed weakly.

"You will regret this..." he rasped. "When you realize how important it was..."

"Darkoak..." the fox boy's expression was remarkably sober, given his victory over Lucus.

Lucus looked up at the glowing disk overhead, which the Möbians called the Moon, and gave his last words:

"I leave you with this warning... When you primitive animals pierce the heavens and make for outer space, the Moon shall become Hell's messenger, and destroy the world of the Spiral."

Upon hearing these words, Tails's brow furrowed, and he shouted, "What are you talking about?"

But Lucus's expression was already going slack.

Cosmo's eyes widened.

She bolted.

"_Father!_"

But Lucus Darkoak was gone. His body went limp, falling backwards from the peak of the throne room tower of the Great MetaRex, the Royal Capital Greengate, the once-single example of civilization on the surface, and Cosmo's eyes followed his body until it fell through a cloud and out of sight.

The Helix King, Lucus Darkoak, had fallen.

She sat there, on her knees at the edge, stunned for several seconds. Footsteps beside her told her that Tails had walked up next to her.

Cosmo's expression of numb shock turned to determination.

"Farewell, Father..."

She stood.

"I will head towards tomorrow."

And the Capital shook.

Without Darkoak there to keep it running with his Spiral power, the Great MetaRex began to collapse. A corner of the tower fell off, taking Shadow and the ARK-Cerberus with it. Silver ran up to Tails in alarm.

"_Tails!_ We have to go!"

_空色デイズ_

An eerie quiet fell over the battlefield.

"What happened?" asked Elias of Blaze, holding a machine gun.

Blaze looked down at her radar. "All enemy Gizoids have stopped moving!"

"So... you mean... it's _over_?" Elias wondered.

And then the Great MetaRex began to collapse. Hastily, Ari brought Great Freedom around, making it run as fast as it could from the big thing as its remaining arm and three dragon heads fell off from the main body, crushing countless skyscrapers. Black smoke poured up into the pink sky.

The Gizoid and Meta-Gizoid brigades ran as well, King Knux Deluxe at the head.

"_Yeah!_ You did it, Tails, you little S.O.B.!" Knuckles shouted over the open comm channels.

But, even when the Great MetaRex had fallen apart, no voice came to them from either Freedom or Emerl.

Had they fought so hard to win the war, that Tails...?

Tails...?

"No..." breathed Sally in Acorn Cannon.

Then...

"_It's Freedom Emerl!_" cried Blaze over the comm channels, bringing every Great Freedom Fighter to tears of joy.

Tears spilled down Blaze's muzzle as she continued, "They're alright! They're coming home!"

So, Freedom Emerl, returned to its best condition through Tails's Spiral Power, flew down from where the central dragon head of the Great MetaRex had been when it was still standing. The Great Freedom Fighters poured out of their Gizoids en masse, all wanting to see the boy who had now seen his childhood's end, who had become their leader in the flames of war and rebellion, and who had now freed them from the absolute oppression of the Helix King.

Silver, knowing that Tails had full control of Freedom Emerl, fell back into his seat, looking up at the Moon which Lucus Darkoak had defied death long enough to warn them about, wondering vaguely how the Moon could become an instrument of doom before passing out from exhaustion...

Charmy and Cream waved enthusiastically at Freedom Emerl, bright smiles on their faces. Bean and Marine both leapt up and down exuberantly, neither of them able to be contained even when there were no enemies to fight. Rotor, Knuckles, Vector, Espio, Bark, Lobo, and Ari crossed their arms and smiled up at the hero Gizoid, and the hero within. Blaze crossed her hands over her chest, her eyes sparkling with admiration and falling tears. Elias & Meg were so overcome with joy that they took each other in their arms and pressed their lips to the other's, their tongues wrestling for a good ten seconds before they realized what they were doing, and continuing for a good fifteen seconds after that. Mighty gave a thumbs-up that only his comrades would have been able to spot. Big danced on the spot, waving his arms in the air as he chanted _Kinda super-duper happy_. Lupe folded her arms and nodded with a small smile. Chris waved joyfully at Freedom Emerl, a broad smile on his face.

And Sally, letting Nicole slide slowly to the ground on her spot in front of her Acorn Cannon, gave Freedom Emerl the widest smile of them all.

Inside Emerl, Tails wore a weary grin. His digging goggles had been ruined in the battle, but he didn't care. He would have all the time in the world to have them fixed up.

Tails's eyes fell on the green-haired alien girl who sat across his lap, her blue eyes shimmering with joy as she looked down at the people waving and cheering at them. He had so much to say to her, but they would have time to talk later. Hours and days and even years where they could do nothing but talk.

He settled with wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

Cosmo turned to look at him, surprised by his closeness, but - with a cute pink tint in her cheeks - she smiled at him with such warmth that Tails felt his heart soaring to the Moon.

And Cosmo nuzzled her noseless face against his cheek as she kissed him there, resting her head on his shoulder.

Tails's face burned, and he reached up to put a hand in her flowery hair...

When a bright orange light appeared to his left.

The sun had risen on another day.

He had reached the Great Freedom Fighters, and when he bounded out, Cosmo held bridal-style in his arms, he was the center of a massive conglomeration of joyful rebels, everyone wanting to get near enough to touch him, shake his hand, kiss him, give him their thanks in some way.

And then, an hour or so later, they had all returned to their quarters in the remnants of the Great Freedom, even as the sun shone down on them from the eastern horizon.

There would be no need for battle now.

**グリーンゲート攻略戦  
Battle for Greengate**

They would rest today.

**7****日目  
Day 7**

The final boss had been defeated.

**王都グリーンゲート****・陥落  
Greengate, The Royal Capital****・****Fallen**

They would begin work on their new world tomorrow.

**まだまだつづく！  
To be continued some more!**

* * *

次回予告  
Next Episode Preview

Time passes, and many people grow closer together.

While others... grow further apart.

Next time on _Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl_: _**"Dear Sonic"**_.


	21. Dear Sonic

_(With the Helix King gone, what is there left to do? And what of Lucus Darkoak's last words? Was he bluffing, or was he trying to caution them of an as-yet-unseen evil?_

_We'll find out soon.)_

_

* * *

_

**拝啓ソニック様  
Dear Sonic**

**8:7:3236**

_Dear Sonic,_

_Are you doing well?_

_(Well, I suppose that is an odd question to ask you...)_

_I have decided to start this journal, because..._

_Well, I suppose it should be obvious._

_Tails has done it, Mister Sonic! He has overthrown my father and made Möbius a safe place for me and the Möbians to live in._

_Although, I wonder..._

_Why did Father do what he did?_

_Why was he so sure that he was doing the right thing?_

_Oh! I just looked back at what I have just written above, and I realized that I failed to introduce myself._

_Good day to you, Mister Sonic!_

_My name is Cosmo Darkoak. I was the First Princess of Greengate, and daughter of Helix King Lucus Darkoak._

_Don't get angry at me, if you please. I have renounced my father, after he renounced me. You see, I once asked my father, when I was still a resident of the Capital with Father, and he indulged my every wish. Then, one day, I asked Father, "Why was I born?" When I next awoke, I was inside a box, down on the surface, and Tails rescued me!_

_I suppose this was a week after you died._

_The Great Freedom Fighters are very kind people, and Knuckles in particular has told me a great deal of what was going on on the surface. Upon this realization on my part, the remaining Helix Generals - Undenine Redpine, Salasine Blacknarcissus, and Gnonine Pale-Bayleaf - old friends of my father - attacked the Great Freedom._

_But Tails, who was so struck by your death that he wished to cast aside his own personhood and become like you, came to my rescue when Blacknarcissus had me in his grasp! I believe in Tails as wholeheartedly as he believed in you, because he always is there to save me. He is always there to lend me a hand._

_This diamond he gave me... he says that he found it while he was trapped in a cave-in with you once. It really is quite lovely, and I am very thankful for it and his companionship!_

_It has been a month since then, and it is now the seventh day of the Battle for Greengate. Although Father had concealed a Gizoid far larger than any other inside the Capital, Tails still proved greater than my father._

_Although, my father's last words trouble me:_

_"When you primitive animals pierce the heavens and make for outer space, the Moon shall become Hell's messenger, and destroy the world of the Spiral."_

_Was Father bluffing, in an attempt to defuse any thoughts of Möbian expansion across the surface? Or was it a genuine warning?_

_What of when the population grows too great for even the surface to bear? We cannot expand downwards. I know that you would not desire that, Mister Sonic._

_I do not want to believe that Father did this without reason, but he seemed so sure that he was doing right by us..._

_But Father had been indulging in a horrific pastime during his two millenniums on this planet. He would collect the most beautiful women from across the planet in a single village, bring them to his Capital, and indulge them in the finest of everything he could offer. He even... reproduced with them, raising the resultant children as living dolls._

_And when they showed self-awareness - as I did - they were cast out, left to die in boxes._

_The valley of discarded princesses..._

_But I am not a doll! Whatever my father says, I and the Möbians have every right to exist in this world!_

_Perhaps Father really _was_ attempting to dissuade us from allowing our new world to reach its full potential..._

_I will think about it some other time..._

_I'm so tired. I was up almost 24 hours straight._

_A little sleep makes it all better._

**12:9:3236**

_Dear Sonic,_

_The Great MetaRex - the tremendous Gizoid inside the Capital - has been re-erected. Tails did it in his Great Freedom Emerl. He combined Freedom Emerl with Great Freedom and hoisted the broken heads and necks back up onto the Gizoid's shoulders._

_The arm, though, seems too difficult even for Tails to lift up, so we propped it up as a building next to it._

_Silver says that the Great MetaRex will become our new city's Parliament Complex._

_Oh! Mister Sonic, I just remembered. We congregated today to vote on a title for the New Capital, and the decision was unanimous, based off of Tails's suggestion:_

_Sonic City._

_I think it is a wonderful name for a city, although most everyone is bored to tears by Silver's plotting out of the city's layout, the infrastructure, the construction materials - using the fallen skyscrapers of Greengate - and other such subjects._

_I greatly look forward to this city's completion!_

_PS: Groups of people from other villages are beginning to arrive, to aid with the efforts. Two of particular interest to me were a young mongoose boy and a blonde human girl. The mongoose boy - named Ash - is eager to help, although I cannot suppress the feeling that he is a little too blunt about the faults of others. Helen - the human girl - is also quick to rise to someone's aid, but her legs were paralyzed in a Gizoid attack, and so she cannot move from her wheelchair. I feel most aggrieved for her condition._

**27:11:3236**

_Dear Sonic,_

_Sonic City's Parliament Complex has been entirely converted from Father's original application of it! The skyscrapers which fell from the Capital that day are being slowly worked on, so that they are habitable again. _

_If only you could see what a world you have created down here on the surface, Mister Sonic._

**1:1:3237**

_Dear Sonic,_

_Happy New Year!_

_It seems that Silver has figured out the secret of that holy book his father had left him when he left Galahad Village._

_Apparently, it cannot be read._

_Silver suspects that it was printed as a practical joke._

_Also, Knuckles stubbed his toe today when he dropped a pane of glass on it. I have never heard so much colorful language._

**24:3:3237**

_Dear Sonic,_

_Tails has found a block of stone as large as Freedom Emerl itself, and has moved it into the fledgling City Square in front of the Parliament Complex._

_He is already hard at work on it with his hand drill._

_I suspect what he might be crafting._

_But I will not tell you yet. It's a surprise~!_

**8:7:3237**

_Dear Sonic,_

_It is now the first anniversary of the Möbian victory in the War for the Surface._

_Sally has left, though she did not say where she was going._

_She explained to me that, if you were still alive, she would have gladly taken a governmental job, but without you there to balance her out with your - these are her exact words - "brainless recklessness", she decided that government was not for her. Silver pleaded that she not leave, that she would be a fine fit in for the government, but she departed anyway, in her Acorn Cannon._

_I know that she loved you. I think she still loves you, even though you are in the immortal hall of heroes and she is still in the world of the living._

_I wish her the best, wherever she roams._

_PS: I will give you a hint about Tails's statue: it is pointing to the heavens..._

**25:12:3237**

_Dear Sonic,_

_Tails's statue is completed! He carved it himself with his hand drill, with no one to assist him. He is truly a wonderful person!_

_The statue..._

_It's of you, Mister Sonic! Pointing to the heavens, and at your feet are inscribed the words:_

_Believe in yourself._  
_Not in you who believes in me.  
Not in me who believes in you.  
Believe in you who believes in you!_

_Tails truly does love you still, Mister Sonic. Only he could have given your monument such spirit and life._

**1:1:3238**

_Dear Sonic,_

_Happy New Year!_

_The New Capital of Sonic City is now four times the size it was when it was under the control of my father. We are hard at work constructing the new buildings around the City._

_Even so, a peculiar thing is unfolding. Any Gizoids which are unfit for carrying construction materials are being collected at Silver's behest. I do not know what is to become of them._

**3:1:3238**

_Dear Sonic,_

_As it turns out, Silver is having these Gizoids reconstructed as transport vehicles. I suppose it makes sense; with the rate of Sonic City's expansion, it could be difficult to walk from one end to another._

_Gizoid attacks are slowing down on the New Capital; the shock of Father's defeat must be wearing off, I suppose. The hedgehog-shaped Black Arms known as Shadow is persistent, though; his ARK-Cerberus is engaging in guerilla warfare on the outskirts of Sonic City. He refuses to relent._

_Because of the cooling sentiments, Silver is willing to allow certain Black Arms to dwell amongst the populace of Sonic City. They are kindly Black Arms, ones who were trepidatious about Father's orders to slay Möbians. I bear them no ill will._

**7:4:3238**

_Dear Sonic,_

_It is now my thirteenth birthday, and I was delighted as soon as I woke up:_

_The flower buds on either side of my head had bloomed! They are a lovely pair of roses, the most delicate shade of pink, and Tails could not speak for five minutes when he first saw them!_

_Although, I was quite horrified when I bled in the bathroom. Miss Lupe said that that was my "period", whatever that means._

_I will ask Knuckles what a "period" is. He told me so much of what is on the surface - such as, an "enemy" being a bad person whom you "beat the crap out of" with your "fist" when you are "pissed off" - perhaps he will know what a "period" is._

_PS: I will make a note of never asking Knuckles about female hygiene again. Unless I feel like another good laugh at his expense, which does not strike me as a decent thing to do. I do not like to mock other people._

**8:7:3238**

_Dear Sonic,_

_Whenever I see you in Sonic City Square, pointing to the heavens, I cannot resist the urge to talk to you here._

_The Gizoids of the Great Freedom Fighters have disappeared. This is not a great concern - the Black Arms rebellions have largely stopped, and Shadow has fled with his ARK-Cerberus to the wastelands - but I am curious about where they went. Only Freedom Emerl is still active, and that is less and less often._

_PS: I just received a letter from Sally._

_It seems she is a school teacher now!_

_Apparently, that means that she teaches children about hope for the future. Isn't that wonderful?_

**10:11:3238**

_Dear Sonic,_

_Mister Lobo and Miss Lupe have just gotten married! And I was their bridesmaid._

_Guess who caught the bouquet?_

_Miss Meg!_

_And then Mister Elias announced his engagement to her, and she showed off her engagement ring!_

_They are a most lucky pair._

**1:1:3239**

_Dear Sonic,_

_A Happy New Year to you!_

_Tails has been elected Supreme Commander of the New Government. The election was nearly unanimous; some had voted for Silver. I have never seen Tails in uniform before, and I must say, he looks quite..._

_Anyway, his inauguration date has been set as nineteen days from today. Tails is very nervous. Silver is to be Tails's right-hand man in the New Government._

_This is great news, is it not? Your surrogate little brother is now the leader of free life on Möbius._

_PS: Knuckles has been elected Legal Affairs Chief, and Big and Bark are in charge of the census. Apparently, they are to take a yearly count of the people who live on Möbius. Rotor is the Director of the New Government's Science Department._

**27:1:3239**

_Dear Sonic,_

_Tails flew Freedom Emerl about Sonic City today, and Silver yelled at him for it. I did not appreciate Silver telling off Tails for doing what only he could do, and Silver did not appreciate me telling Tails that, as Supreme Commander, has responsibilities he must not shirk._

_This New Government, for all of its faults, is better by far than Father's._

_お約束と言う事で、ひとつ_

**5:9:3239**

_Dear Sonic,_

_Missus Lupe has just given birth to two cubs! A boy and a girl! Her and Mister Lobo have named them Marcos and Maria. Miss Lupe is still as strong as ever, and I think that she will still be the one in charge of their repair shop once she and her cubs are discharged._

_This is a wonderful occasion. And they are not the first children to be born on the surface._

_And it's all thanks to you and Tails, Mister Sonic!_

**10:11:3239**

_Dear Sonic,_

_Mister Elias and Miss Meg got married today!_

_And..._

I_ managed to catch the bouquet!_

_This must mean that _I_ am the next who will get married._

_And..._

_Mister Sonic..._

_I think Tails tried to catch my eye then._

_Does he love me as I...?_

_Here he comes I gotta go Mister Sonic!_

**1:6:3240**

_Dear Sonic,_

_Silver yelled at the Great Freedom Fighters who were in the New Government today. Apparently, he does not believe that they are giving their all in running their agencies. Tails is immensely bored by his governmental responsibilities, so Silver was given most of the responsibilities Tails had had. This must be why Silver is close to anger with the other Great Freedom Fighters. He is very serious so much of the time, so he can be somewhat grating to deal with._

_But I know he means well, however misguided his anger can be._

_熱砂の荒野を抜けて大グレン団が行くのだ_

**15:10:3241**

_Dear Sonic,_

_Me and Tails..._

_We..._

_I'm blushing so much right now..._

_We... did it..._

_You know... _it_?_

_I feel awkward speaking about it to you..._

_But... It felt so wonderful... and Tails inside me..._

_He was so good at it, even though it was his first time... and mine..._

_We are so happy together..._

_Is this world of yours anything like you imagined, Mister Sonic?_

_Is our new world what you thought it would be...?_

**30:7:3242**

_Dear Sonic,_

_Research on Freedom Emerl by the Science Department has finished production on the mass production models of Freedom Emerl. Silver has dubbed them the __**Fremeralds**__. They are emerald-green duplicates of Freedom Emerl, with guns and swords as weapons._

_Charmy and Cream were amongst the first volunteers for pilots. Already, they are modifying theirs to be distinct. Charmy's is a vibrant orange, and Cream's is painted in the color of her fur: a pale, cream color._

_Silver would frown on this, but they are Fremerald pilot prodigies, so he gives them license to decorate them as they see fit._

_I am sure their mothers and fathers are smiling on them with pride._

**13:10:3242**

_Dear Sonic,_

_Mister Elias and Missus Meg are pregnant! They're going to have a baby! Knuckles was nervous about letting Elias near her, since she was practically his sister after their villages were destroyed by Shadow, but he seems happy enough now... He is practically going to be an uncle._

_I wonder what mine and Tails's children will look like..._

_...But I'm not pregnant, Mister Sonic! Don't get the wrong idea! I was just wondering! Me and Tails aren't even engaged, even if we're... you know..._

_Best wishes to you!_

**25:5:3243**

_Dear Sonic,_

_Mister Elias and Missus Meg have had their baby. It's a little girl! They named her Alexis. Apparently, Elias had been thinking about it for a while now._

_The seventh anniversary of freedom on the surface is approaching up quickly._

**8:7:3243**

_Dear Sonic,_

_It is the seventh anniversary of the fall of Greengate and the Helix King._

_The most peculiar thing happened, though._

_Tails asked if he could have back the diamond he gave me just over seven years ago._

_I loved it, but I love him more, so I did not refuse._

_What does he want with it?_

**15:7:3243**

_Dear Sonic,_

_Tails returned the diamond to me... but a chunk was missing from it. When I asked him where the rest of it was, he told me - with a smile - that he would show me in a few days._

_Tails is being very mysterious lately._

_I wonder if he is ill..._

**19:7:3243**

_Dear Sonic,_

_Tomorrow, the Gizoid probe rocket will depart for the Moon._

_As it turns out, the Moon is a satellite which orbits Möbius. We are sending out a rocket Gizoid to probe it and find out what it's like._

_We haven't forgotten Father's last words, but Tails said that if we find nothing on the Moon, no harm will befall us._

_I personally believe that Father was trying to scare us with his last words. I do not fear what will happen if the rocket Gizoid makes moonfall._

_Tails wants to see me tomorrow night, just after the Moon probe Gizoid takes off. We are to meet at the Great Freedom Memorial Site._

_He seemed giddy as he asked it of me._

_I wonder if he will..._

_The Moon will be full tomorrow. It will be a lovely night._

_He will...!_

_He _has_ to!_

_I have never looked forward more to the future!_

**つづく  
To be continued...**

**

* * *

**

次回予告  
Next Episode Preview

The creatures of this planet are contented in these times of peace, gorging themselves on the spoils of ruin.

Their time is short now, with my awakening. Even the most beautiful of flowers can bear deadly barbs.

Next time on _Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl_: _**"Hear Me, Möbius"**_.


	22. Chapter 21

_(Chapter Twenty-one._

_Yeah, Dear Sonic counts as a chapter, even without a "Chapter" heading._

_I'm writing this in the time before my sister's 20th birthday party. I hope I finish it before guests start showing up...)_

_

* * *

_

**グリーンゲート陥落から・****7****年  
Seven years since the fall of Greengate**

**新都****ソニックシティ  
New Capital Sonic City**

**王都跡に築かれたメビウス人たちの都  
Möbian capital build on its ruins**

A stack of papers slammed onto a desk beside one just as large.

"Oh, come _on_, Silver! Have a heart. As if I don't have _enough_ to sign my name with."

"These are the complaints from the populace, Supreme Commander Prower. The sewers are backed up. The taxes are too high. The neighbors are too noisy. It's all self-centered nonsense."

"That's good, though, isn't it? At least they_ can_ complain about it without a giant robot tearing them in half."

"Hmpf."

"Something bothering you, Silver?"

"Not at all."

Chief Adviser Silver turned back from the desk in the Commander's Office at the peak of the Parliament Complex.

"There is a council meeting in half an hour," Silver said sharply. "Your attendance is mandated, Supreme Commander."

Tails gave a weary smile. "Silver, can't you call me _Tails_? It's not like we're strangers or anything."

Silver gave a sharp glare over his shoulder. "A precedent must be set, sir. If any of your subordinates heard me addressing you in such a familiar fashion, they would feel entitled to that as well."

"Do I look like I care?" Tails snapped, resting his feet on his desk.

"Not at all," Silver said coldly.

A ringing sound came from Silver's pocket.

Silver answered his cell phone.

"Yes?"

After a few moments, he nodded slowly.

"I understand. Are our forces closing in?"

A flicker of a smile crossed Silver's face at the reply.

"Good. Bring him in alive for his trial. And... send me a live feed."

He closed his cell phone.

"What was _that_?" asked Tails.

"There is an anti-government guerrilla attack in the Sandopolis Zone. The Fremerald Squadron are already en route," Silver pulled out a small holographic projector. "Here is a live feed of the action."

An image of sand and ancient skyscrapers, now long ruined, appeared over the small circular device. Explosions erupted here and there, sending shards of glass and rusted metal flying every which way.

In the middle of it all, was a six-armed Gizoid, with two faces on its chest, and a head on its shoulders. Its white paint job was long since lost, but it was still unmistakably...

"ARK-Cerberus..." Tails's heart skipped. "Shadow!" Tails gave a determined glare at Silver. "I'll join the Fremeralds in Freedom Emerl!"

"No," said Silver sharply. "Let the troops handle this. Running into battle is not your job, sir."

"But I need to finish things with him, or-..."

"You have your own job to see to, _Supreme Commander_!"

Gritting his teeth, Tails slumped back into his Commander's chair, furious.

_Nikopol_

Sand swirled in twisters as the squadron of identical pale-green mechas soared across the dunes. All had the same crown-like head on their shoulders, the same red shades on the face on their chests. The two at the lead were different, though; one was orange, and the other was the color of cream.

**量産型フリーダムエメル**  
**フレメラルド  
Mass Production Freedom Emerl Models  
Fremeralds**

ARK-Cerberus, bearing three black swords, produced a missile silo from its shoulder. Missiles - constructed from spare materials by Shadow himself - fired on the Fremeralds. All of them dodged.

One wasn't fast enough.

The flaming wreckage hit the ground in a plume of black smoke.

"You cheap Freedom Emerl knock-offs!" ARK-Cerberus's jaws opened with the first syllable out of Shadow's mouth, then hung slack. It clearly wasn't cared for. "Where is the _fox boy_?"

Inside the orange Fremerald was a teenage bee boy. "The Supreme Commander isn't gonna dirty his hands on the likes of _you_, stripey!"

ARK-Cerberus opened up with a volley of shards of metal from the grooves on its right arms.

The orange Fremerald froze up.

And gunfire caused each shard to fly off course.

Inside the cream-colored Fremerald, which held the smoking gun, a teenage rabbit girl the same color as her mecha gave the bee boy a reprimanding glare, a tuft of brown hair falling halfway over her left eye.

"Charmy, keep your eyes on the enemy," she scolded.

The orange Fremerald saluted the cream one.

"You're as sharp a shooter as ever," Charmy's voice came from the orange mecha, "Thanks a bunch, Cream!"

And they rapidly dodged the ensuing missile fire from ARK-Cerberus. Retreating to a safe position, the two Fremeralds whipped out a pair of semi-automatic pistols each and opened fire on ARK-Cerberus.

"Protect Wall!" Shadow cried, the armor plating on each of ARK-Cerberus's left arms forming a metallic barrier which completely covered the enemy Gizoid from Fremerald fire.

In mere moments, ARK-Cerberus's Protect Wall began to spark, and the joints in its legs began to spark.

"The shield isn't holding out?" Shadow clenched the controls more tightly. "Hold out a little longer...!"

But the Protect Wall shattered, and ARK-Cerberus's chest was riddled with bullets from Charmy and Cream's rapid-fire assaults.

ARK-Cerberus fell.

Shadow worked the controls furiously, trying to push out that Spiral Power which had repaired some of ARK-Cronus's damage just before finding Baihuu's severed arm and the Goldion Hammer, but evidently the Helix King had sealed it away much more expertly than it had been when he had seen to Shadow's hatching some seventy-nine years prior. As it was, ARK-Cerberus lifted the remnants of its left arms feebly, then fell defeated.

"So you've done all you can do?" Shadow let loose the controls, leaning back in his cockpit as the Fremeralds closed in from all directions. "Thank you for putting up with my selfish behavior for so long. I'm sorry."

Minutes later, Shadow stood outside the remnants of the final Gizoid in the ARK line, handcuffs clamped around his wrists. He could easily have torn them off; although it would have entailed a good deal of scraped skin and spilled blood, his immortal body would be able to stand it. However, his escape would have been more trouble than it was worth, for even though the bee and rabbit brats were out of their Freedom Emerl knock-offs, there were at least six around him which still had their pilots in them, each one capable of grabbing its gun if he resisted.

Regrowing all _that_ skin would be a literal pain.

Besides, if Shadow heard the more accurate rumors correctly, the Möbians were aiming for the Moon soon. His further resistance would mean nothing; these Möbians would have to learn the nature of the universe the _hard_ way.

The bee boy held a holographic projector, which projected a blue, slightly fuzzy image of the "Supreme Commander".

Miles "Tails" Prower.

Time had suited him well. He was tall and thin now, his twin tails thick and bushy. His eyes, as blue as ever, were narrowed in the sort of irritance one sees on the face of a housekeeper who has spotted a particularly irksome-looking insect.

"Shadow," he said dully.

"What's with that look?"

"You're one persistent guy, aren't you?" the fox boy said, putting a hand on his waist. "The War for the Surface is over. It's _been _over for seven years now."

"I don't need to take that from the man who took over Greengate's throne," Shadow quipped.

"What do you mean?" The fox boy's tone was suddenly accusatory. And slightly panicked.

Shadow scowled at the Helix King's usurper.

"You did not show up to finish this personally. Instead, you sent your brats and their toys to take me into custody. Exactly as Darkoak would have done." His scowl deepened. "You are resting on your laurels, fox boy. Why did you not face me today? Were you, perhaps, too wrapped up between the loins of the Helix King's daughter to be bothered with Freedom Emerl?" A sneer appeared on Shadow's face. "You are more like Lucus Darkoak than you imagine, fox boy."

The fox boy was going quite red, rage and embarrassment fighting for dominance.

Then the white hedgehog pushed his way into the hologram projector's field of vision.

"Stop trying to provoke the Supreme Commander," he said severely. "You will be escorted back to Sonic City, where you will be held in the Marble Prison while you await your trial."

"Trial?" Shadow asked dully. "What's that?"

"A new piece of Möbian wisdom," he said shortly, turning to address the bee boy. "Charmy, take him away."

_ポイズンプリズン_

Silver deactivated the hologram projector. Tails's fists were still balled up.

"That bastard... He thinks he can say what he wants..."

"He was attempting to provoke you, Supreme Commander," Silver said simply. "He is a holdover of Darkoak's old order. He is bitter. You could see it in his eye. He was trying to evoke a violent response from you."

Silver made for the door.

"You might want to calm down a little," Silver said over his shoulder. "The council meeting is in fifteen minutes. It would not do for you to appear flustered when we meet there."

And Silver left the room, leaving Tails to fume in the room that was once Lucus Darkoak's audience chamber. Kukku flitted up to Tails from his position on Tails's desk, giving off a plaintive, "Chao..."

His sour mood evaporating on the spot, Tails patted Kukku's head, Kukku's floating ball turning into a heart.

"You're the one thing that _doesn't_ change around here, aren't you, Kukku...?"

_メガネで決めよう_

Director of Science Rotor's image on the council projection screen was quite joyful, and it was not simply because his domestic partner was working at the station beside him. He was making a report on the Gizoid Moon Rocket, and it was evidently all good news from him.

"All system checks on the Gizoid Moon Rocket are green!" he said brightly. "The Spiral Power tank has been topped off, and the launch is go for 600 minutes from now."

"Excellent work, Director Rotor," said Silver, with a real smile on his face. "We await the launch eagerly."

"Understood!" said Rotor cheerily. "This has been Director of Science Rotor, signing out!"

With a peace sign from Rotor, the channel cut out.

Legal Affairs Bureau Chief Knuckles shrugged at Tails.

"Are you really sure we'll find something up there, Tails?" he grumbled.

"Refer to him as Supreme Commander Prower, Legal Affairs Bureau Chief Echidna," Silver said in a refined voice.

Tails furrowed his brow.

"'When you primitive animals pierce the heavens and make for outer space, the Moon shall become Hell's messenger, and destroy the world of the Spiral'," he said. "Those were Lucus Darkoak's dying words. Our remote sensors haven't picked up anything on the Moon, so we're sending up a moon probe to see it close up." A smile crossed Tails's face as he kicked up his shoes on the round council table (Silver scowled). "And if _that_ doesn't find anything up there, no harm done!"

"Still, it's a bit amazing, isn't it?" said Provisions Bureau Chief Elias. "Seven years ago, we didn't even know the Moon was a _satellite_, and now we're capable of sending probes up to touch it."

Silver turned toward a large purple cat and a bulky polar bear.

"Citizen Affairs Bureau Secretary Big, how is the census proceeding?"

Both the cat and the polar bear shifted uncomfortably, sweat beading on their foreheads in the air-conditioned room.

"Maintaining an accurate idea of how many people out there is a vital task," Silver said crossly, noting Big and Bark's trepidation. "It helps with population control and ensures that the cities - and underground villages, if people still desire to live there - do not become overrun."

Public Relations Bureau Chief Vector waved a hand airily in the air, headphones in his ears, which explained why he spoke louder than he needed to.

"C'mon, Silver! It's a mistake to make _these _two count _anything_!"

"No one is suggesting that they handle the census all by themselves," Silver snapped. "Use the people in your organization!"

"Look, I'm just saying that Big and Bark can't handle a delicate job like that!"

That was the last straw for Silver.

"Then what _are _you people still doing in the government? During the council meetings, all you do is kick back and relax! _Is that your job?_ The people who admitted that they couldn't handle the job and left, _are better men and women than you_!"

Big and Bark stood up sharply.

"That's not nice to say!"

"What did you say?"

"That's enough!" Tails said, putting up a hand and beginning to rise.

That was enough for most tempers to cool. Tails sat back down, resting his feet on the table again, his tails spilling out over either armrest.

"Supreme Commander, shall I issue orders to the Citizen Affairs Bureau?"

"Sure."

Big and Bark began to stammer in protest.

"It's alright, guys," Tails told them, smiling. "You won't lose your government positions or anything. Silver's just gonna oversee the census. That's all."

_旅ってなぁ疲れるもんなんだよ_

After the council meeting, several New Government officials stopped by a local steakhouse, opened by the chief of the former Knothole Village. Beside the entrance to Ivo's Steakhouse, lifesize cardboard cut-outs of the young Tails and Sonic stood next to a statue of a potbellied man with a large mustache, bifocals, and a chef's hat, holding two sides of pig-mole and grinning in what was supposed to be an ingratiating way.

Big and Bark were currently wolfing down pig-mole steak after pig-mole steak, complaining between mouthfuls that they still could do stuff for the New Government.

"Well, well! Look at these two fine notables of the New Government!"

Turning, Knuckles, Elias, and Vector spotted Ivo, the proprietor of the steakhouse. He was dressed in a fancy white suit and carrying a fan in a fat hand encrusted with golden rings. His bifocals glinted just as much as his grin, which showed all of his teeth.

"No one eats quite as much as you two!" Ivo smirked. "Feel free to eat as much as you like! After all, the heroes of the revolution, Sonic and Tails, grew up eating my pig-mole steaks!" Ivo gave a loud, false sniff. "I raised those boys as though they were my own!"

And Ivo walked off, cackling to himself. The waitresses he passed by gave him withering looks.

Big and Bark continued to wolf steaks down.

"Geez, you wouldn't _need_ to be Sonic to want to get to the surface with a guy like _him_ as Chief," Knuckles muttered.

Elias stared down at his steak, not touching his fork.

"Hey, Elias. The steak ain't gonna eat itself, you know..."

Elias looked out the window at the faint disk of the Moon still visible in the sunlight.

"When we pierce the heavens and reach outer space..."

"That's a load of bullshit, what Darkoak said," Knuckles said dismissively through a mouthful of pig-mole steak. "You have to take what he said with a _big_ grain of salt."

"You sure you wanna take that back, Knux?" Vector said.

"What do you mean?"

"What you said about what Darkoak said. That's an insult to bulls _and_ their shit."

Knuckles grinned.

"Yeah. Guess you're right."

_お前の__XXX__で…_

"Yo, Meg! Where does the laundry go?"

"Oh, they go on the line outside," Meg called out to Marine, breastfeeding Alexis. The raccoon girl was helping out with the housework while Elias was helping run the government.

The doorbell rang, and Meg made to get up.

"No, I'll get it, sis!" Marine called out, dropping the laundry where it was and bolting to the door.

Standing at the front door...

Was Cosmo

She looked worried.

**CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE:  
Hear Me, Möbius**

**20:7:3243**

_Dear Sonic,_

_I am concerned about something that the New Government is doing._

_All this smoke that their factories are putting up... It cannot be good for the plants of the world. If this smoke does not stop, the plants will not be able to live because there will be no more sunlight. Already I can hear the trees and flowers calling out to me, to protect them from harm._

_Since I am seeing Tails later today, I will ask him to do something about this._

_Assuming... he isn't going to..._

_That he still wants to..._

_..._

* * *

"So, he's meeting you later tonight?" Meg asked. "By the light of the full moon?"

"It's... the full moon tonight?" Cosmo asked, eyes widening slightly. "I didn't know that. I just thought that the Moon probe was being launched tonight."

"It is, and there's bound to be romance in the air watchin' it blast off to the Moon! It'll be bonzer!" Marine called out, putting a fist in the air.

"But, Tails has been drifting away from me lately," said Cosmo, bowing her head. Her grass-green hair blocked her eyes from view. "Last week, he asked if he could have back the diamond that he gave me that day. He gave me back a large piece of it the other day, saying I would have the rest back tonight. Is he...?" Cosmo looked up at Meg and Marine, the roses on either side of her head seeming to wilt with her grief. "He's going to split from me, isn't he...?"

To Cosmo's surprise - and mild annoyance - Meg laughed.

"Sounds more like he's gonna propose, Cosmo," she explained.

"He's finally gonna take the plunge, eh?" asked Marine, putting her feet on the table.

"But..." Cosmo said, confused. "Tails and I have been... 'taking the plunge', as you say... for a while now."

Meg and Marine were momentarily confused by this usage of that turn of phrase, and then comprehension struck them.

"We have sealed our bond, but now, I fear... His behavior would be unusual if this were the beginning of a split between us," Cosmo conceded, "But... Isn't he too busy as Supreme Commander to have a relationship with me?"

Meg smirked a little, wincing as Alexis dug her gums in a little. "Ow... Always seeing the best in people, but the worst in situations, huh?"

"Huh?"

"Even after all this time, you're still struck down on your self-esteem because your father abandoned you, Cosmo. Tails took seven years to get the courage to propose to you. So, what do you feel about _him_?"

Cosmo looked down at her hands, clasped in front of her heart as if in prayer. In between them was the chunk of diamond Tails had returned to her just a few days ago. It glinted in the light.

Cosmo smiled warmly down on it.

"Looks like we have our answer," Marine said with a sense of finality.

"You're still the same as ever, assuming the best of people, but the worst of situations," Meg added.

"Well, I s'pose that's what makes Cosmo Cosmo."

_メガネで決めよう_

Silver stepped from the elevator to the lower computer sectors of the Parliament Complex, facing a lavender cat girl and a yellow mongoose boy with black hair on his head. Both wore their government outfits more seriously than the Great Freedom Fighters did.

Silver walked past them, and Blaze and Ash followed.

Ash spoke first.

"Chief Adviser, we have just been contacted by the Spiral Power Research Institute. Apparently, they were successful in activating the bio-computer."

"I see," Silver said.

"Congratulations, sir," Blaze said, smiling warmly at Silver's back, her clipboard at her side. "Your dream is about to come true."

"Yes. With this, we will be able to learn the secrets of this world."

Ash sneered. "The Supreme Commander, the council, the citizens, they've all grown complacent! The only thing keeping the New Government together is _you_, Chief Adviser!"

The mongoose stopped almost as soon as he'd spoken, fearing that he'd overstepped his bounds.

But Silver just smiled at him.

"It's not just me," he said. "It's also you. The next generation."

Ash, recomposing himself, saluted.

As did Blaze.

And everyone else in the room, most of whom were younger than Silver.

Silver smiled on them all.

_Love Conservative_

Cosmo stood in the Great Freedom Memorial Site, gazing up at the Moon in the sky, the perfectly round disc glowing like a god's eye. The dress she wore was rather like that which she wore when Tails found her in that box, but with no sleeves or straps, and a green silk decorated with flowers that trailed around her feet, with white elbow-length gloves over her hands, and green high-heels on her feet. To some, she would have looked like a garden princess rather than a Helix Princess.

"The Moon's beautiful tonight."

Cosmo gave a start. She hadn't heard Emerl landing beside her, but that could only explain how rapidly Tails and Kukku had arrived.

"It is," Cosmo said, nodding.

"Sonic had a dream of going to the Moon, back before... before I met you. I never thought that it would ever be possible."

"But then," Cosmo looked at Tails significantly, "Wasn't it always the Freedom Fighter way to 'kick common sense out and go _beyond_ the impossible'?"

Tails smirked. "Guess you're right. Sonic told me, just before he died, 'Aim for the top!'." His smirk broadened. "I'm aiming beyond that top."

"His dream to visit the Moon is coming true. That is the Moon probe there, is it not?"

So it was. Tails looked where Cosmo was pointing, and saw, faintly, a trail of smoke, with a drill-shaped rocket at the head of a trail of green fire.

Tails nodded.

"It is. In about 24 hours, Sonic's dream will come true.

"We've pierced the heavens, at last."

The Moon reflected in Cosmo's eyes. "My dream..."

Tails looked at her, startled.

"My dream is to cover all the land in flowers," she said softly, but resolutely.

"Flowers?"

"Yes. I will irrigate the soil about the world, plant seeds, and watch them grow! I will plant many trees, and watch the red and brown soil turn green across Möbius. And after that, bugs and other creatures will live amongst the flowers and trees in a harmony of animals and plants! I want very much to turn this into a world filled with flowers, greenery, and animals!"

"Irrigate the land, and plant seeds?" Tails smiled brightly. "That's so like you, Cosmo! I'll help you out!"

To Tails's surprise, Cosmo gave him a stern look at this.

"No, Tails! There are things only _I _can do, and things that only _you_ can do. Things that we still _must _do as each other."

Recovering quickly from this shock, Tails looked across the skyline of Sonic City in the distance, dominated by the three-headed Parliament Complex, the Moon hovering over the middle head.

"Th-this city has gotten beautiful, too, hasn't it?" he said.

Cosmo followed his gaze, smiling again. "Yes."

Tails gulped.

Time to do it.

"Guess... it's time to come out, then."

Cosmo gave Tails a stunned look.

"For the two of us to be regular people, not the Helix Princess and the leader of the Great Freedom Fighters. To see the same sights, to hear the same sounds, and share the same laugh. Maybe it would be nice to live a life like that now."

The words were spilling out of Tails's mouth awkwardly, but it was clear that he'd rehearsed it several times. Cosmo gave him a look filled with rapture.

"My eyes would be your eyes, and your ears would be my ears." Even as Tails said it, he realized foolishly that Cosmo didn't have ears, but he plowed on even as heat rose in his face. "Maybe that would be nice."

Then, Tails got on one knee, holding out a golden ring set with a seed-shaped diamond.

"Is this...?" Cosmo's eyes were shining with emotion.

Tails smiled up at her.

And said Those Four Words.

"Let's get married, Cosmo."

Cosmo stared from Tails to the ring in wonder, a bright smile coming over her as she slowly took the ring and put it on her left ring finger.

"Tails... I... cannot accept your terms of marriage."

But Tails's heart barely had time to break over this statement before Cosmo continued.

"Tails, were I as naïve as I was when I came down to the surface, I would have mistaken it for a suggestion that the two of us give up our own personhoods and become a single, new individual."

Tails's horror was dispelled by relief, but by no means was he completely reassured that this would work out.

Until Cosmo smiled warmly at him.

"Tails, we are different people. Very, very different people. Different people do different things from each other. But because we are different, we try to understand one another." Cosmo's smile became - if possible - even warmer. "I want to know you more, Tails. We will always be together, and I will still want to know more about you. And, Tails... I want you to want to know more about me, too."

"Cosmo..."

Tails was stunned; was _Cosmo_ proposing to _him_, in response to his _own_ proposal?

"Thank you, Tails," Cosmo brought up her hand, kissing the seed-shaped diamond Tails had carved with his Core Drill from the diamond he'd given to Cosmo. "I really love this ring."

But still, Tails thought, the _real_ reason he'd called her here wasn't apparent yet.

"So... Cosmo... you'll marry me?"

Cosmo gave Tails a very warm smile, and a very warm nod. "Yes."

But Tails barely had time to smile before Cosmo continued, "I _will_ marry you, Tails, but will _you_ marry _me_?"

Tails's heart singing with joy, he smiled as widely as he possibly could.

"Yes! I will marry you, Cosmo!"

Tails closed the increasingly small distance between him and his now-fiancée, placing his hands on her shoulder, Cosmo resting her hands on Tails's chest. Then Tails wrapped his arms around her, resting his head on her shoulder, his tails curling around Cosmo's legs. His hands rested in the small of Cosmo's back; she had a very small torso, and her legs took up more than half of her height (otherwise, she would be shorter than Tails). Cosmo returned the hug, and Tails felt something cool and wet on his shoulder.

Cosmo's tears of joy.

And, as had happened many times in the course of their growing relationship (ever since her flowers bloomed), Tails's nostrils were filled with the pheromones excreted from Cosmo's flowers, and all thought left his mind, replaced with a blissful oblivion.

They pulled back so that their smiling faces were just inches away from each other, staring at each other as though just looking at each other could fill the other up with drink.

Then they leaned in for a kiss.

_お前の__XXX__で天を…_

"Well, Cobar, we've done it," said Rotor softly, looking at the red echidna.

"Looks like we have," Cobar replied, giving Rotor a warm smile.

"What say we drink to it? And maybe go home together?" Rotor suggested.

Cobar took Rotor's hand, and he said, "I was wondering when you'd ask, my-..."

And then the alarms went off.

_カーマン・ライン_

Long ago, the Kármán line was the term used by scientists to clarify the point at which the atmosphere of Möbius - then known as _Earth_ - ended and outer space began. It cut off the atmosphere at one-hundred kilometers above sea level.

Within the Moon, a counter measured the height of the highest artificial structure on Möbius.

**4.89 KM**

**11.38 KM**

**23.85 KM**

**36.78 KM**

**49.21 KM**

**60.59 KM**

**74.52 KM**

**87.44 KM**

**100.00 KM**

**PERIMETER BREACHED**

**KÁRMÁN LINE EXCEEDED**

_**ACTIVATE ANNIHILATION SYSTEM**_

And with a blue flash from the lunar seas, the Moon Rocket exploded the very instant it left Möbius's atmosphere.

The exact moment it pierced the heavens.

_反螺旋族_

Cosmo gasped sharply, and Tails pulled back in shock, his arms on Cosmo's.

"Cosmo, what's wrong?"

But Cosmo could not take her eyes off of the Moon, a look of rising horror there. Her body was much more rigid than Tails could ever remember it; it was as though her body were filled with lead.

Then Cosmo seized up, her fingers clenching at odd angles, and it became immediately clear why: red data lines, glowing _under Cosmo's skin_, became visible along her elbow and arms, her shoulders and neck and face. An electric feeling shot through Tails from his hands, and he instinctively let Cosmo go.

Tails stepped back in horror.

Cosmo ripped off her right glove; her hand, too, had data lines running down it, glowing beneath her fingers as well. She did not need to take off her left glove - or her ring - to understand that the same was happening there.

"Wh-what's happening?" Cosmo said.

And a moment later, her eyes widened in abject terror, and she threw back her head and shrieked.

Involuntarily, Tails clasped his hands over his sensitive fox ears, Cosmo's scream echoing in his skull. His eyes clenched shut for a moment, and then, when Tails was sure Cosmo had stopped screaming, he opened them again.

She wasn't there. And Tails's fox ears would have heard her footsteps, however quietly she'd gotten away. And she couldn't have taken Emerl, either; Tails would have seen that in addition to hearing it.

His eyes couldn't have been closed more than two seconds.

Where did she go?

_The Blue monday e"r"ectrical parade_

"What do you mean, the Moon Probe Rocket exploded?" Silver shouted at the screen of Rotor and Cobar, both quite disturbed by the destruction of the moment they'd been building to for two years now.

"We have no idea!" Rotor said in a loud panic. "It exploded the moment it crossed the Finivetus Line. It... must have had engine problems..." Rotor finished weakly.

"Well, go over it again and find out what happened!" Silver ordered.

Klaxons, louder than before, blared throughout the Parliament Complex.

They were programmed to only go off if an enemy mecha made it into the city.

The room suddenly seemed twice as cold, even as the lights turned emergency-red.

"An unknown enemy reading is confirmed in the perimeter of Sonic City!" cried Helen at her station.

_どうだ__! __俺のトランペットは凄いだろ__!_

Above a crowded street in Sonic City, a glowing square as large around as a car appeared. Then, as if it were a box opening, it produced another four squares, one on each side. Then each additional square produced another three squares, over and over until a glowing grid into darkness large enough for Freedom Emerl to walk through appeared overhead.

And from it descended a mecha unlike any ever seen on Möbius.

It had a rubbery look to its uniformly black composition, like an untextured computer model. It had the appearance of a knight, with blue energy holding its joints together. Its entire right arm was composed of blue energy, a pair of cores glowing like a blue star in its chest and in its left shoulder; a black ring encompassed that orb. It had no face, but a pair of horns between its shoulders that met at a single blue pinpoint.

The citizens of Sonic City, human and anthro and Black Arms alike, still going about their nightly business, looked up at the mecha in wonder and awe. None of them were aware that anything bad was happening, and many thought that this was a test run of some future line of Fremerald mechas.

Then its right arm disappeared in a burst of blue light, becoming a bolt of lightning which struck a nearby skyscraper, causing it to detonate.

Then the Möbians ran screaming.

_ゾーア_

"You didn't detect the enemy's approach?" Silver shouted at Helen, observing the unknown enemy's behavior on the screen.

"It just appeared suddenly over Sonic City!" she replied. "Like it tore open a hole in the sky!"

"Fremerald Squadron status?" Silver asked.

Two voices answered from the screen showing the enemy mecha.

"Already on our way! Zoom-zoom!" cried Charmy.

"We will prevent its advance, Mister Silver," said Cream levelly.

In the cityscape, a round twenty-four Fremeralds approached the enemy mecha, Charmy and Cream in the lead.

Cream commented on the mecha, "It... doesn't have a face. Have you ever seen a mecha like this?"

"Apart from the Helix Generals' personal Gizoids? Nope," Charmy replied. "Think it's a new anti-government guerrilla weapon?"

Back in the Parliament Complex, Silver said, "We are currently running a match on the enemy machine's model. Until then, prevent the destruction of Sonic City!"

"Roger!" twenty-four voices replied.

"Fremerald Squad! Form up around the enemy!" Charmy ordered. "Fire on it from all directions!"

The two-dozen Fremeralds surrounded the enemy machine, firing on it with their rapid-fire pistols.

Pixelated boxes appeared in a sphere around the machine where the bullets impacted, and the bullets disappeared into thin air.

"It absorbed them?" Charmy mused.

"I can't believe it..." Cream gasped.

Charmy's orange Fremerald drew an emerald-colored crystal-clear blade made from a material similar to Tails's Core Drill.

"In that case... _Fremerald Blade!_"

Charmy dived on the mysterious robot, driving the blade into its protective shield.

The blade dissolved, and Charmy was thrown back.

And the enemy robot fired off another bolt of blue lightning, which Charmy dodged.

Unfortunately, it decapitated one of his Fremerald comrades, which exploded.

"Lost contact with Danny's Fremerald!" cried Helen, her voice cracking slightly. Danny was a friend of hers.

Silver was floored. "Handguns and blades have no effect?"

Rapid and heavy footsteps approached on the balcony behind him.

"What the hell're you doing, Silver?" shouted Knuckles.

In the city, the mystery enemy fired wildly in every direction, from its right arm, and both of its Cores. Fremeralds destructed in every direction, flames turning the night sky orange.

"_Charmy!_" cried Cream, fearing the worst.

Charmy's Fremerald emerged from the smoke, clutching an arm.

"I'm okay! Buzz Buzz here's still kicking!" Charmy's Fremerald said in Charmy's voice. "But there are only us two left now..."

Back in the Parliament Complex...

"That thing's tough as rock!" Knuckles shouted, waving a fist in the air.

"If only we had our Gizoids..." Big lamented.

"That thing would be scrap metal!" Bark barked.

"The Gizoids are relics of the Helix King's era," Ash said coolly. "They did not represent our new civilization, so we had them all scrapped."

Blaze gave Knuckles and his two companions a sympathetic gaze. "I do not mean to be harsh, Knuckles, but the fact of the matter is that the Fremeralds represent the result of our study on Freedom Emerl. They are mass-produced, combat-specialized units that are each as powerful as Freedom Emerl would be at optimal performance. So - forgive me if I offend you - if the Fremeralds are having troubles, your old Gizoids would fare even _worse_."

Knuckles grit his teeth. "Damnit...! Can't we do _anything_...?"

Back on the battlefield, Charmy and Cream's Fremeralds darted about, dodging the enemy machine's bolts of lightning rapidly. Cream's was clipped, but she closed in regardless.

"Cream, don't be crazy!" he shouted after her.

"I can still fight!" she replied, dodging around a block of skyscrapers to emerge behind the enemy.

It spun instantly to face her.

And fired.

"CREAM!" Charmy screamed.

But a drill had appeared between the enemy machine and Cream's Fremerald, absorbing the deadly blue bolt. And attached to that drill was an arm of yellow metal. And that yellow arm was a part of...

"Freedom Emerl..." Cream sighed.

In the Parliament Complex, there were scattered cheers - Blaze smiled in relief - and Knuckles shouted, "We've been going _gray_ waiting for you, Tails!"

But Silver scowled.

"Supreme Commander, withdraw immediately! It's too dangerous!" he shouted at the large screen which showed Freedom Emerl shielding the cream-colored Fremerald with a Giga Drill. "Your job is not to go out on to the front lines! How many times do I have to tell you?"

"Dumbass!" replied Tails, causing a stir amongst the New Government officials present. Few in the room had ever heard the Supreme Commander swear, and all of the ones who did were Great Freedom Fighters.

Tails's scowling face appeared in the corner of the monitor (Kukku sat on his shoulder), "Protecting the city and the lives of the citizens! _That_ is our number-one job! Has all this peace made you soft, Silver?"

"Tails..." Silver mumbled.

Inside Emerl (Freedom's cockpit was empty), Tails smiled at his longtime pet Chao.

"Yeah... This is the one place I can really be me," he said.

_Well, there, and in Cosmo's arms_, he thought, heat rushing to his face...

But almost immediately his thoughts were strangled by panic. Where _had _Cosmo disappeared to?

Anger building in him, Tails turned to the enemy mecha.

"Let's do it to it, you faceless bastard!"

He produced a Giga Drill from Freedom Emerl's right fist.

As Tails shouted, "**GIGA... DRILL... DRIVER!**", Silver growled in a voice only he could hear, "Why do you always have to do it the easy way, Tails? Easy doesn't equal right..."

He turned to Helen again.

"Is that model analysis done yet?"

"Great Freedom Fighters Resistance, Darkoak Army, New Government units..." Helen went pale. "There is no match in any of our databases!"

"Then, where in the world did it come from...?" Silver muttered. He then addressed the screen which showed Freedom Emerl battling the new enemy mecha, "Supreme Commander, give top priority to target identification!"

"It didn't work!" Tails yelled, seemingly ignoring Silver.

"If possible, capture it!" Silver pressed on.

"Quit bugging! Like I have time for that!" Tails replied, his Giga Drill blocking the enemy's latest, and greatest, bolt of lightning.

The Giga Drill began to _glow_.

"Tails..." Charmy gasped.

"Your drill is building up energy?" Cream said slowly.

Indeed, the Spiral Power meter on Emerl's console began to max out, even without Tails pushing his fighting spirit.

Let's go.

"Alright!" Tails growled, rising to a yell as Freedom Emerl's jetpack surged with green energy, charging the enemy mecha. "I'm sick of you and your laser light show! I'm gonna take this crappy beam of yours, and _shove it! Back! Down! Your! THROAT!_"

And the Giga Drill, powered by the enemy's own laser beam, did what gunfire and Fremerald Blades could not do: it broke through the enemy's field and smashed straight through the enemy's central Core. The enemy robot hovered there for another few moments, transformed into a collection of polygons arranged roughly in its original shape, and shattered in a burst of blue light.

"Awesome!" Charmy called out, his orange Fremerald putting a fist in the air.

"Did he... win?" Cream asked.

The polygons - spheres, tetrahedrons, and cubes - drifted past Freedom Emerl and the two surviving Fremeralds as slowly as balloons. The remnants of the enemy mecha drifted lazily down the city streets below...

Each one detonating violently.

Altogether, more damage was caused by its destruction than its brief assault. Several skyscrapers, their lowest levels heavily damaged, collapsed, the hundreds of people who were too slow to evacuate dying in moments. Flames and smoke choked the air.

Tails could not believe what just happened. It just went more wrong than he ever could have thought. Half-thoughts shot through his mind about retroactively luring the mecha out of the city before destroying it.

But for several hundred people...

It was already far too late.

"No..."

In the Parliament Complex's control room, whatever feelings of jubilance at the enigmatic robot's destruction were quickly squashed at its violent explosion.

Silver was the first to recover.

"Dispatch the Fire and Rescue Emergency Fremerald Squadrons! Keep the damage to a minimum! Rescue anyone who is still alive in that wreckage!"

"What was that?" Knuckles said dumbly.

Silver rounded on him, his face blotchy-red with anger. "I'll tell you what that was! The Supreme Commander rushed in without knowing what the enemy was, counterattacked blindly, and _destroyed the whole thing_! 'Rash' doesn't even _begin_ to describe the Supreme Commander's actions!"

Then the screen changed abruptly from scenes of horror and carnage...

To a green-haired woman who many people knew. But none of them knew her to have red data lines glowing under her skin, or a cold blue light in her eyes. Quickly, though, they realized that she was slightly _transparent_, because they could see the edge of the Moon - which was behind her - through her torso. It had to be a hologram, but where was it broadcasting from?

The hologram of Cosmo, as large as the one which showed just before Greengate revealed itself as the Great MetaRex, hovered in front of the Parliament Complex's central purple head.

Tails gazed up at it with confusion and terror.

"Is that... Cosmo...?" he breathed.

All over Möbius, every radio, every television set in homes, cars, buses, or on the sides of buildings, every computer screen, every speaker, telephone, video phone, cell phone, every form of communication broadcast her message.

And when she spoke, her voice had lost any trace of Cosmo's warmth or compassion. All that remained was a cold tone which, somehow, had an electronic reverberation to it.

"Hear me, Möbius.

"We, the race now known only as the Anti-Spiral, have determined that Möbiankind, in achieving capacity for breaching the atmosphere, has reached Spiral Power Danger Level II.

"We hereby activate the Möbiankind Annihilation System."

**つづく  
To be continued...**

**

* * *

**

次回予告  
Next Episode Preview

When I was young, I had a dream where I learned all the secrets of the world.

And when that time comes, Tails, I will take you and...

Next time on _Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl_: _**"Tell Me The Secrets Of This World"**_.


	23. Chapter 22

_(Chapter Twenty-two..._

_Man, things really took a sour turn last chapter, huh? Who is this Anti-Spiral? And which Sonic character is it?)_

_

* * *

_

"This is the tale of a man who continues to search for his own path, even when betrayed by his destiny.

"It has been seven years since Greengate fell.

"Möbian civilization has evolved at an astonishing rate.

"As Darkoak predicted, the instant the Gizoid Moon Rocket left the atmosphere, it was destroyed, and an unknown destructive weapon appeared in Sonic City.

"The declaration of war against all Möbiankind came from an unexpected person..."

**CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO:  
Tell Me The Secrets Of This World**

"I repeat," Cosmo repeated in her electronic drone on every monitor and speaker in the world, "The Möbiankind Annihilation System has been activated."

"What the hell is our little princess talking about?" Knuckles yelled, knocking a fist on the railing.

Silver turned to Helen. "Hurry, pinpoint the transmission's point of origin!"

The wheelchair-bound blonde typed furiously for several seconds, then a look of mingled frustration and panic crossed her features. "It's no good! It's using an encryption I've never seen before! It's scrambling everything."

Tails's face appeared on the monitor; he looked manic.

"Silver! Where's Cosmo?"

"That's what _I'd_ like to know," Silver said levelly.

"She's not answering her cell, either," Tails said, sweat beading on his forehead. "Is that really Cosmo saying all that crazy stuff?"

Then every monitor and speaker on Möbius, which had previously been hijacked to broadcast Cosmo's message, went dead.

Sharp gasps seemed to draw the air out of the control room.

_メガネで決めよう_

A short time later, in the Public Relations Bureau, phones were ringing off the hook.

"Yeah, that's right! You can trust the New Government Council!" Knuckles grinned, talking into the phone from a caller before they'd even got the chance to speak. "What could possibly destroy all Möbian life?"

The caller then told Knuckles the _real _reason they'd called.

Knuckles frowned.

"What? 'Reimburse you for your busted-up house'?"

A vein popped on Knuckles's forehead.

"YOU FUCKIN' DUMBASS! FREEDOM EMERL WAS FIGHTING TO PROTECT THE CITY!"

A familiar voice spoke from the doorway,

"What's going on? It's _chaos_ in here!"

Knuckles slammed a fist down on the table.

"WHERE THE FREAK HAVE YOU _BEEN_, ELIAS?"

He then returned to his shouting match with the irate caller on the other end of the line as Ash approached.

"My apologies for calling you in on such short notice, Provisions Chief Elias," he said.

"Don't worry about it," Elias replied. "Allie is still less than two months old; what can I really do for her?" He looked out warily over the PR room, phones ringing endlessly around them. "So, what are all these calls about?"

Ash folded his arms behind his back.

"The citizens are nervous about that declaration of war. Speaking to New Government officials, core members of the Great Freedom Fighters, will go far in alleviating the concerns of the general public. ...At least, that is Chief Adviser Silver's thinking on the matter."

Vector held his phone at arm's length, listening casually to the griper on the other end shouting at the top of his lungs about where Tails could stick his Giga Drill next.

"_I'm_ getting more gripes about smashed-up houses than nervous citizens," he grumbled. "People are really attached to their new lifestyles."

Big spoke slowly into his phone ten feet away, "Don't worry. We're really tough, so we can handle this..."

Bark barked into his phone, "Yeah, so quit bitching and let us do our job!" He then slammed the phone onto the receiver so hard that the desk beneath cracked.

Sighing at this sight, Elias faced Ash again. "So, where is Silver?"

"He is considering how to deal with the situation," Ash said shortly. "The LDH bio-computer was just shipped in from the Spiral Power Research Institute. It should be coming online now."

Vector smacked the phone onto its receiver, cutting the complainer off mid-sentence.

"In other words," he snapped, "Leave it to the old-timers to handle the complaint calls while _he_ figures out the problem. Sounds like something Pothead would think up, all right."

_エルディーエイチ生体コンピュータ_

Green lights illuminated the room, Silver standing before the glass tube reaching from the floor to the ceiling. It was filled with nutrient fluid for the bio-computer.

"Now, then," he addressed it. "You will tell me everything. Tell me the secrets of this world."

Four words were the first order given to the LDH bio-computer.

"Now, awaken, Lucus Darkoak."

For inside the glass tube, wires and tubes leading from its nonexistent neck, was the cloned head of Lucus Darkoak.

Green eyes opened slowly.

And the Lucus Darkoak Head yawned.

"Where am I?" it asked.

"It has been seven years since your death," Silver began without preamble. "No, it wasn't _your_ death. Lucus Darkoak's original body was too damaged by its death and subsequent fall from the peak of the Capital to serve as a bio-computer. So, we preserved his memories and knowledge as data, utilizing you as a liaison. We didn't go so far as to replicate his personality, though."

The bio-computer gave a dark smirk. "So, you would dig up a grave and drag the dead back from Hell? You have an odd notion of fun."

"We had to because you died without having told us anything. This time, you can't get away." Silver furrowed his brows. "Now, tell me. What is Spiral Power? What are the Anti-Spiral? And... what do they have to do with Möbians?"

_月日は百代の過客なり_

Tails was at wit's end. He had checked Cosmo's house, and found it empty. He had called her cell phone, and got her voice mail. It would be pointless to call her house phone, since he knew her house was empty.

He was sitting on Freedom Emerl's shoulder, next to Emerl.

"Please come back, Cosmo..."

A light fell on Tails.

Then he heard jet engines.

Looking up, he saw a pair of Fremeralds - one orange, one cream - hovering beside Freedom Emerl. The orange one's right shoulder was projecting the spotlight on Tails.

"We found you, Supreme Commander Tails!" said the orange Fremerald in Charmy's voice.

Tails leapt into Emerl. Charmy's Fremerald, Buzz Buzz, stood in his way.

"Where do you think you're going, Tails?" Charmy asked.

"Get outta the way, Charmy!" Tails shouted.

"Freedom Emerl has been ordered back to base," Charmy explained as Cream landed beside him.

"Besides, all combat rights are currently granted solely to the Fremeralds," Cream added.

Freedom Emerl butted heads with Buzz Buzz.

"You two were no match for that thing!" Tails bellowed.

"We could've beaten it by ourselves!" Charmy yelled back, but he sounded shaky on that count.

"I'm looking for Cosmo! This is an emergency! Stand aside!" Tails ordered.

"I won't!"

"That's an order from your Supreme Commander!"

"Gizoid dispatches fall under Chief Adviser Silver's purview," Charmy returned. "Not even the Supreme Commander can ignore the rules."

"Get outta the way, you..."

Cream appeared in Tails's right eye.

"The citizens are worried, Mister Tails," she said seriously, brushing hair out of her left eye. "Freedom Emerl is not an ordinary Gizoid. It is a symbol of the retaking of the surface. A symbol of strength. If people see it flying around, they'll worry that another big battle is coming. You don't want the citizens to worry, do you, Mister Tails?"

Tails thought about what Cream said, and finally conceded, "You sure can make a persuasive case when you want to, Cream."

Emerl detached from Freedom, Freedom's body turning from yellow to silver, its limbs becoming shorter and clunkier again as Emerl hovered over it.

"You win," Tails said shortly. "You two take Freedom back to the base. I'll go out in Emerl. I won't get a whole lot of attention from this, right?"

Without another word, Emerl blasted off across Sonic City.

"Supreme Commander Tails!" Charmy shouted after him.

Cream appeared on a monitor in Buzz Buzz's cockpit. "Charmy, let him go. You know that no one can stop him when he gets like this."

Charmy swore. "I wish he'd accept the fact that times've changed."

"I don't think he _wants_ to accept that."

"That's just being selfish..." Charmy sighed. "Alright, Cream, let's get Freedom back to the Parliament Complex."

_お前の__XXX__で…_

Lobo leaned out of the car he was working on - he was handling the reupholstering, while Lupe handled the axle - and tapped Lupe's knees. His wife slid out, their kids Marcos and Maria sitting at the door to the house from their garage-centered repair shop.

Lupe gave Lobo a questioning look.

He pointed out of the garage.

She looked.

"Well, well."

Tails waved at them. "Hey, Lupe. Lobo."

"Tails?"

A short time later...

"So, she hasn't been here, either?" Tails said solemnly.

"Sorry we couldn't help out more," Lupe said.

Tails shook his head. "It's alright. I just came on the off chance that she was here."

Lupe did not look reassured, but instead fixed Tails with an even more serious gaze. "Is everything okay, Tails?"

Tails looked momentarily befuddled, then glanced at Lobo & Lupe's orange-furred son Marcos and gray-furred daughter Maria. They were both giving Tails worrisome looks.

"Did they see it?" he asked.

"Huh?"

"Cosmo's broadcast on the TV."

Lupe nodded darkly.

Tails did Sonic's famous 'aim for the heavens!' pose. "Don't you worry, kids!" He gave them a thumbs-up and a wink. "It doesn't matter what happens, we'll come up with something. I don't know what this Möbiankind Annihilation System thing is, but it's nothing to worry about with Freedom Emerl on the job!"

Marcos and Maria's expressions relaxed a great deal.

Moments later, Emerl blasted off from the Wolf household.

"_You're_ the one we're all worried about, Tails," Lupe muttered so low that only her husband could hear.

"He looked pretty down, 'f'you ask me," Lobo said.

"Shame he isn't a mecha. _Then_ we could fix his problems for him."

_アンチスパイラルのメッセンジャー_

Now Tails really did not know what to do, or where to go. It was like Cosmo - his fiancée - had dropped off of the face of Möbius.

He sat at the edge of the artificial lake in the Great MetaRex Memorial Site, in the shadow of the Great MetaRex Memorial Complex - the Great MetaRex's fallen left arm, it was the second highest construct in Sonic City, apart from the Parliament Complex; it jutted up, its hand grasping at the sky in its stiff throes. Lost in thought, Tails found himself staring down into the city lights reflected in the pool.

"Cosmo...

"Where _are_ you...?

"Was that... really you, Cosmo?"

Tails picked up a small rock at his side, and tossed it into the water. He was normally good at making them skip.

It dropped in without skipping once, sending ripples in every direction.

When they cleared, a silhouette was standing less than ten feet to Tails's left.

A silhouette, with roses on either side of its head...

Tails gave a start. He had not heard her approach.

She was still missing her right glove, and she was standing stiffer than Tails had ever seen her stand before. The light seemed to have left her eyes.

He called out to her.

"Cosmo!"

She did not move for several seconds.

Then...

Slowly...

Lifelessly...

Mechanically...

She half-turned her head to face him.

"Cosmo!" Tails implored, running up to her. "Where have you been?"

"A place unknown to you," said an electronic voice to Tails's left.

Blinking, Tails realized that Cosmo, who was standing in front of him before, was now _not_ there. Regaining his composure, he looked to his left.

Cosmo was standing fifty feet away from him, silhouetted against the city lights. A cold blue light had come into her eyes now.

_How did that happen?_

"Because I have learned something," she said, her tone flat and cold, so unlike her on an ordinary day. No kindness. No gentility. No _love_.

"L-learned what?"

"That you and I are completely incompatible."

Tails ran towards her, knowing what would happen, and sure enough, because he refused to blink this time, and Cosmo vanished from his perspective like a light switching off.

"The Spiral Nemesis will bring about the destruction of the universe," said her voice, seeming to ring from every direction.

No. Not from _every _direction.

Up!

Tails's fox ears guided his eyes to the top of Great MetaRex's middle finger. There, he saw a silhouette against the moon, twin pinpricks of blue light where her eyes were.

"We Anti-Spiral exist to prevent the Spiral Nemesis," Cosmo continued. Even at this distance, her voice carried clearly down to Tails.

Tails was stammering with disbelief.

"Wh-what happened to you, Cosmo? How are you warping around like that?"

"Tails, the Core Drill you bear is the very symbol of the Spiral Nemesis," Cosmo pushed on relentlessly, "Its power, the Spiral Power itself, will destroy the universe."

* * *

"Spiral Power is the power of evolution," said the Lucus Darkoak Head bio-computer, "Lifeforms which carry helical DNA; galaxies which take spiral shape; they are amplified to infinite levels by Spiral Power, which magnifies _everything_. That is the fundamental underpinning of this universe. However, there arose a group which feared this power. I do not know if they were representative of one planet or several, but they called themselves only the Anti-Spiral. My original body, Lucus Darkoak, was but one of many Spiral Warriors who battled the Anti-Spiral to protect the universe."

"Spiral Warriors...?" Silver asked. "And the Helix Generals?"

"Childhood friends of my past life. I was always acknowledged as the leader of our small group, possibly because of my admittedly prodigious Spiral Power level. Indeed, the only person I have met in my entire past life who matched my Spiral Power output..."

"Was Tails?"

"Correct. However, our homeworld, Greengate, was destroyed by the Anti-Spiral's initial attack forces. The modest sceneries and modest hopes I had grown up with were annihilated in an instant. But when hope is threatened, a man rises up to confront it. Many of Greengate's starships fled to other habitable homeworlds - one, incidentally, being Möbius - but myself and my fellow surviving Seedrians began work on countless war machines to counter the Anti-Spiral."

"War machines? You mean...?"

"Yes. The Gizoids - from the Great MetaRex, to the Meta-Gizoids, to the common cannon fodder Gizoids, even the five personal Gizoids of myself and the Helix Generals - were all initially constructed to do battle against the Anti-Spiral."

"So, you're saying that _you _and your people created Emerl?"

"Exactly. The Spiral Power Magnification Conduit Interface, or Core Machine for short, was one of the greatest weapons we Spiral Warriors of the Universe used against the Anti-Spiral. It is capable of being activated only by Spiral Power, and we found the most reliable method of channeling Spiral Power involved sentient emeralds on the planet Cain G. Thus we created the Core Drills from them to channel our Spiral Power to activate the Core Machine.

"The Core Machine is a quasi-sentient mecha, favoring whatever Core Drill first activates it, and capable of controlling whatever mecha it combines with. Due to the low quantities throughout the universe of the necessary construction materials, we were only able to make twenty Core Machines in total. With my own prodigious Spiral Power output, I was a natural for a Core Machine; it was shortly incorporated into my Huenlonix. That Core Machine is now lost. I petitioned for Core Machines to be bestowed upon my four friends, but my plea was ignored."

Silver couldn't help asking, "And... the other nineteen?"

"They have likely fallen into the hands of the Anti-Spiral when their respective Spiral Warriors fell, though there is little reason to fear the Anti-Spiral utilizing the Core Machines, or 'Emerls', as you would call them. The Anti-Spiral pathologically fear Spiral Power above all else.

"In any case, the last Emerl to be constructed was never assigned a Spiral Warrior to pilot it; its construction was completed just moments before I departed for Möbius in my Hellship. I launched it and its Core Drill into Möbius in my initial orbital bombardment, burying it beneath the surface. Who would have thought that something sealed underground would have been discovered by you Möbians? The hand of fate at work again."

"But, why?" Silver asked, growing impatient. "Why would you subjugate Möbius, if you were fighting to protect us from afar? Why force us underground?"

The Lucus Darkoak Head's eyes closed.

"We lost," it said simply. "I succumbed to despair in our final battle, and the Spiral races retreated to their respective homeworlds. Mine had been lost, so I fled to the nearest planet with life on it. That world... was Möbius.

"After the Anti-Spiral conquered the universe, they installed Spiral Lifeform Annihilation Systems on any planet that registered with Spiral Power on their sensors. When the aboveground population exceeds a height of one-hundred kilometers above sea level - the generally accepted cutoff point from atmosphere to outer space - the device detects this, and activates."

"And... that's why you drove all of Möbiankind underground?"

"Think what you will of me, but I was trying to preserve you as _species_. I could not let sentimentality get in the way. I did so by maintaining a bare minimum population _underground_."

Silver scowled, "So why didn't you come out and tell us all this? Why did you use _force_ to subjugate us?"

The LDH bio-computer closed its eyes for several moments. Just when Silver was wondering if it would not answer, it said five simple words:

"That would not have worked.

"Foolish lifeforms driven by the Spiral instinct blindly strive to reach the heavens. Words and reason are insufficient to curb that drive, and all too often are used to promote it. The only action which can effectively curb that drive... is fear. But still, you rebelled against me. Even as the weight of two-thousand years of boredom weighed down on me, my will was strong enough to keep my Spiral instinct bottled up." Then, the Lucus Darkoak Head, which had formerly been talking and speaking with complete neutrality in both voice and face, began to grimace in anger. "But... as your rebellion so casually picked off my childhood friends and endangered my protection of you people, my control was broken, and my blood boiled."

* * *

"...And that is what is so terrifying about Spiral lifeforms," continued Cosmo. "Even Lucus Darkoak could not control his instinct to fight."

Tails waved a fist in the air, upset at Cosmo's words, what she was saying about an _Anti-Spiral_ and _Spiral Warriors_ and _Core Machines_, and at how she had changed so dramatically in the few hours since they proposed to each other.

"That's crazy! How can me and Sonic's war be the result of _that_?"

"It has been seven years since you came to the surface. Look at how far Möbian civilization has come in that short span of time." Cosmo spread her arms wide, as though to indicate the breadth of the change that had come over the Capital when it changed hands from Lucus to Tails. "Do you not find the speed somewhat suspicious? That is the potential of a Spiral race. Having achieved capacity for sending machinery into orbit, Möbian civilization will advance explosively. They will become a power that will threaten our own. Ergo, we will destroy you before that can happen."

"That's what the Möbiankind Annihilation System is? That mecha earlier?" Tails furrowed his brow, that urge to fight rising in him again. "No matter what the Anti-Spiral throws at us, we have Freedom Emerl! We'll beat 'em!" Tails's eyes burned, "So please, snap out of it, _Cosmo_!"

Even from this distance, Tails could make out the downward turn in Cosmo's brow that indicated a cold frown.

"That is impossible," she said. "I am the Anti-Spiral's Messenger program. A virtual lifeform that lay hidden within helical genetic code, awakened when the Spiral Lifeform Annihilation System is activated."

Tails's heart was breaking the more Cosmo spoke.

"Please, Cosmo!" he raised his arms in desperation. "Stop talking like that! Snap out of it! You never used to be so cold before! You were always so warm and sweet, and..." Tears ran free down Tails's muzzle. "So, please, WAKE UUUUP!"

Cosmo did not move a millimeter.

"What you see now is the real me. If Möbian life had remained sequestered in their underground villages, I would not have been awakened, and the Möbiankind Annihilation System would not have been activated. Responsibility for my birth, and for the inevitable annihilation of all Möbian life, is entirely upon your shoulders, pilot of Freedom Emerl."

* * *

"The Anti-Spiral hid a virtual lifeform within the genetic code of the females of aboveground Spiral lifeform races most likely to produce beautiful daughters," the bio-computer continued. "As the Helix King, I had the most beautiful women of every race - human, anthro, and Seedrian - gathered into a single village, and the most sumptuous of _each_ were brought to me at the Royal Capital. I lavished them, and gave them my children, whom I also gave whatever they desired. When they began to show signs of self-awareness, I would have them disposed of, in the event that they would manifest Messenger traits. It was difficult initially, but grew as easy as breathing over two-thousand years."

"And Cosmo is the Anti-Spiral's Messenger?"

"It is ironic, and unfortunate. I had hoped that, by this time, I would have purged Möbius of anyone who carried the Anti-Spiral Messenger gene, in the hopes that the Möbiankind Annihilation System would be crippled in the unlikely event that I was ever toppled."

"But Darkoak, tell me!" said Silver urgently. "What _is_ the Möbiankind Annihilation System?"

* * *

"What does it do to annihilate Möbiankind?" Tails asked through his tears.

* * *

In the LDH bio-computer room deep underneath the Parliament Complex, and on top of the Great MetaRex Memorial Complex, father and daughter gave the same cold message in the same cold tone:

"In three weeks' time, the Moon will leave its orbit, and impact Möbius. And that will be the end of it."

* * *

Silver went white.

"Th... the Moon...?" Silver's right hand went to his head; he felt faint. "Word of this cannot get out to the populace! There will be widespread panic in seconds!" Silver recomposed himself. "Darkoak, this matter is of highest confidentiality. You are to discuss it with nobody but me."

The door slid open behind him.

"Silver, _this _is where you've been?"

Knuckles and Elias were standing there, both looking rather clammy in the green light of the LDH bio-computer room.

"Don't enter without permission!" Silver said angrily.

Knuckles grabbed Silver's arm, not noticing the Lucus Darkoak Head.

"You dumbass Pothead! That don't matter now!" he said angrily, running past Elias, who glanced warily at the Lucus Darkoak Head before following.

"Check out the TV!" Knuckles said, pointing at the television monitor that took up the entire wall in the main control room.

Cosmo was semi-silhouetted against the Moon, her glowering eyes giving a cold blue glow.

"What is this...?" Silver asked.

"It's been running live on TV for a few minutes now," Elias explained.

"She says the _Moon_ is gonna fall!" Knuckles said.

Silver's heart stopped.

"No..."

"That little princess said it plain as day!" said Knuckles. "It's hard to believe, but after what happened to the moon probe, who knows?"

"Can we believe her, Silver?" asked Elias. "She says that we were driven underground by some war between the Spiral races and the Anti-Spiral. It's just like Darkoak predicted: 'The Moon will become Hell's messenger'. It's coming down on top of us!"

Silver, losing the feeling in his feet, grabbed the computer console before him to steady himself.

"I was too late... My worst fears are coming true!"

Steadying himself, Silver made for the nearest elevator.

"Citizen Affairs Bureau Chief Knuckles. Provisions Chief Elias. Follow me to the Defense Planning Room."

_デジタル変換_

Cosmo closed her eyes as the process began.

It started at Cosmo's feet. Pixels of light like the cold glow of a computer screen spread from the tips of her toes, inching up her body, disintegrating her clothes, the red jewel in the center of her dress shattering into red dust, leaving a skin-tight black suit with red lines of data glowing through... or, Tails thought in horror, was this Cosmo's _skin_ that was black with glowing lines like veins?

"It is ironic that the female whose genes carried the Anti-Spiral Messenger factor would be born as Lucus Darkoak's daughter." There was no humor in Cosmo's voice. Nothing. Not anymore. Just electronic coldness.

The glowing data traveling up Cosmo's body did not stop at her neck, as Tails feared; it continued up her face, encompassing those beautiful roses of hers and flowing down her hair, turning it all the same consuming black. Were it not for the glowing lines cutting deeply into her skin which now resembled black rubber - her hair bearing lines of glowing green data, the roses on either side of her head now jet-black with pink lines glowing at the edge like rose-colored fire - Tails would have thought her a silhouette.

Cosmo's eyes opened again. They had no warmth in them, glowing with a cold blue fire, the red lines of glowing data below her eyes gleaming sinisterly. They were the only colors left on Cosmo's face.

And when she spoke, her mouth showed blank whiteness inside, with no teeth or tongue or _anything_ inside her evidently now-hollow physique.

"However, now that the Möbian Annihilation System has been activated and I have been converted into the Anti-Spiral's Messenger program, I can never be made into a living being again."

Cosmo floated up into the air unsupported.

And behind her, a glowing square appeared, expanding outwards with several more squares that formed a portal.

Through the portal floated a mecha, identical to the one which attacked mere hours before.

Followed by another, identical Anti-Spiral mecha.

"Cosmo!" Tails shouted up to her.

Cosmo ignored him, floating back to the closing portal.

"_No!_ Cosmo! Where are you going? _COSMOOOO!_"

But Cosmo and the portal were already gone.

The two Anti-Spiral mechas opened fire immediately, blue bolts of digital lightning in every direction, tearing up skyscrapers, wrecking cars, searing streets.

_The Blue monday e"r"ectrical parade_

Charmy heard the alarms blaring through Buzz Buzz's sensors, and saw the swarms of Fremeralds swooping past him and Cream in the opposite direction as they carted Freedom back to the Parliament Complex.

"Molly! What's going on?" Charmy hailed one of the passing Fremeralds.

A human girl with orange-red hair in a ponytail replied, "Zoah have appeared again!"

"Zoah?"

"That's right. The Anti-Spiral mechas have been codenamed 'Zoah'."

"Move it, Charmy, Cream!" cried out Tails's voice.

With barely any time to register Emerl at all, Charmy and Cream had only just enough time to release Freedom before Emerl slammed into it drill-first.

Freedom Emerl stood reborn.

"Commander!" said Molly's Fremerald.

"Mister Tails, if you attack the Zoah carelessly, it will cause a giant explosion!" Cream warned. "We need a plan!"

"I'll come up with one while we're fighting!" Tails growled as Freedom Emerl tore off towards the Zoah.

"See, Cream? This is what I was talking about!" Charmy said, sounding exasperated.

Nonetheless, the three Fremeralds flew to back Tails up.

In the Parliament Complex's Defense Planning Room, Silver, Knuckles, and Elias approached Rotor and Cobar at their respective computer stations.

"Rotor," Silver said immediately upon entering the room, "Have you and Cobar uncovered an effective means of attacking it yet?"

Rotor pulled up a computer model of a Zoah.

"This is the information we've collated from Charmy and Cream's observations during the battle a few hours ago," Rotor explained as a polygonal sphere appeared briefly around the Zoah. "It looks like a powerful energy field is erected around its body. The Absolute Threshold Field, as we call it, is capable of absorbing almost any attack." On Rotor's cue, computer models of Fremeralds descended around it and fired on it with digital rounds from their virtual rifles, leaving only spurts of pixels where the bullets and shield met.

"So we just need to hit it with more energy than it can handle!" Knuckles shouted.

"That won't work," explained Cobar. "You saw that explosion, right? A Zoah is effectively comprised entirely of explosives. When its AT Field goes down and stops functioning, the entire Zoah's body converts from matter to energy in an instant." The Zoah computer model showed a computer-generated beam of light penetrating its shield, the Zoah's body turning into polygons, and bursting apart.

"Its molecular structure is that unstable?" Silver mused.

"That would make spatial transference easier, wouldn't you say?" Rotor postulated.

Meanwhile, Knuckles and Elias folded their arms.

"Any clue what they're saying?" Knuckles asked his almost-brother-in-law.

"Don't look at me, pal," Elias replied.

Back on the battlefield...

Dozens of Fremeralds surround the twin Zoah, blasting away at them with their semi-automatic pistols.

The Zoah responded with bolts of lightning from their right arms and their four collective Cores. Half of the Fremeralds disappeared in flashes of fire and smoke.

"OUTTA THE WAY!" cried Freedom Emerl in Tails's voice, bolting through the ranks of Fremeralds. "**GIGA... DRILL... DRIVER!**"

The Giga Drill impacted against the nearest Zoah's AT Field, sending a shower of rainbow pixels flying.

Its two Cores lit up... and in a crack of thunder, Freedom Emerl went flying out of control towards the city streets.

Citizens below screamed and ran as the Gizoid who was their hero seven years before fell towards them...

And stopped less than six feet from the ground. The humans had to duck to avoid being crushed.

"Oops!" Tails said nervously.

"Don't say 'oops', you bastard!" shouted a red fox girl who looked vaguely familiar to Tails.

"Don't you think you've done enough damage _already_, mate?" hollered a skunk, shielding his cat wife.

Putting this out of his mind, Tails blasted back up to meet the Zoah.

Back up with the Fremeralds, Charmy's, Cream's, and Molly's were among the two-dozen still active.

"Normal attacks don't effect it... When we _do_ destroy it, it goes up in a huge blast..." Charmy mumbled, squeezing the trigger. "What are we supposed to _do_?"

"Keep cool, Charmy!" said Cream in his eye. "Our first order is to drive them out of the city!"

"Or halt their advance, either one's good!" added Molly.

Freedom Emerl emerged from below them, its Giga Drill absorbing both Zoah's beams.

"Tails!" Charmy cried out.

The Giga Drill glowed blue from the Zoah's energy.

"Supreme Commander!" called out Molly's Fremerald. "At least lure them out of the city first!"

"_We don't have time for that!_" Tails roared, hurling a burst of blue energy at the nearest Zoah, penetrating its AT Field. The Zoah turned into a bundle of polygons and burst apart.

Freedom Emerl faced the three remaining Fremeralds.

"Guys! Shoot down the fragments! _All of them!_"

Comprehension dawning, Charmy, Cream, and Molly all smiled as they said, "Roger!"

With three Fremeralds firing on the falling spheres, cubes, and tetrahedrons, all of whom were excellent marksmen (with Cream being the best of the trio), it was relatively simple. Not a single explosive polygon got within twenty feet of the nearest buildings. Fire and smoke filled the sky like a fireworks display.

"One down, _one to go_!" screamed Tails, throwing the rest of the energy at the remaining Zoah, which also reduced itself to polygons and exploded.

"Tails!" Charmy tossed a spare pistol to Freedom Emerl.

"Thanks, Charmy!"

With four firing on the falling fragments, it was even simpler. Within moments, the only sign that a battle had taken place was the damage that the Zoah directly inflicted.

With a small chuckle, Tails tossed Charmy's pistol back to him.

"And that's how it's done," Tails smirked.

Back in the Defense Planning Room, Knuckles put a fist in his hand.

"Now I get it! We just gotta detonate the fragments before they hit the city!" he grinned. "I knew Tails could do it!"

"That is, assuming the Zoah only come at us in pairs," said Cobar in a grim sort of amusement.

Knuckles's grin fell.

"What do you mean?" Elias asked.

"If they attack in larger numbers, that won't be a viable strategy," Rotor said.

"And... the populace would not see it that way," Silver finished.

_メガネで決めよう_

Freedom Emerl and the three Fremeralds piloted by Charmy, Cream, and Molly descended onto the steps in front of the Parliament Complex.

There were crowds surging there, shouting and cheering.

No.

Not cheering.

_Jeering_.

"What's going on?" Tails wondered.

Shouts came at Tails from the mob:

"YOU BASTARD! IS TRASHING STUFF ALL YOU'RE GOOD AT?"

"_It's all your fault! Get the fuck away from us!_"

"THE MOON'S GONNA FALL ON US! WHAT WERE YOU _THINKING_?"

"Go away! It's your fault they're attacking us!"

Cream hung her head in her Fremerald's cockpit.

"I don't believe it..." she breathed.

Charmy appeared in the corner of her right eye, "He really should've listened..."

Tails was numb with shock. He had fought to protect these people, and instead of venerating him, they were _denigrating _him.

"This is... This is what my fighting has caused?" he said, jaw slack.

In the City Square not a hundred meters away, Tails saw another gut-wrenching sight:

_People were pulling down Sonic's statue with slings of rope!_

"It's this guy's fault, too!" came a shout. "_TAKE IT DOWN!_"

With a great heave from the rioters, the statue collapsed, crumbling as it hit the Square.

Hot fury rose up in Tails. If he could see himself, a green light would have been visible in his eyes.

"_You bastards..._" Tails growled.

Freedom Emerl took off towards the people who'd pulled down Sonic's statue, a Giga Drill appearing from its right fist.

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU JUST _DID_?" he bellowed.

Rioters screamed and ran from the sight of Freedom Emerl, which swung its Giga Drill in a great arc, scorching the pavement and setting several trees ablaze. Miraculously, everyone had avoided the Spiral flames.

Tails prepared to swing again, blind with rage...

When he saw a young human girl, shaking with fear, tears in the corners of her eyes. She had to have been at least five years old. She could not have known Freedom Emerl as a hero personally; her parents likely told her the stories of Freedom Emerl, King of Braves, the emblem of the Great Freedom Fighters' determination.

And here it was, going berserk and attacking the people it had fought so hard for.

Tails's wrath assuaged, the Spiral Power meter on Emerl's console went dark, and Charmy, Cream, and Molly's Fremeralds grabbed Freedom Emerl by its extremities and hoisted it away. By this point, the riots had resumed, and they were hurling garbage up at their former savior.

At the front gates of the Parliament Complex, Chief Adviser Silver emerged, flanked by armored, masked security officers, each armed with a machine gun.

"Please, everyone! Calm down!" Silver called out. "Please listen to your government!"

"Look, guns!" cried a female Black Arms with dark-purple skin and black hair with natural red stripes.

"They're gonna shoot us!" shouted a yellow squirrel fearfully.

"No, we're not!" replied Silver truthfully, a note of panic emerging. "We have no intention of-..."

A shout of "SHUT THE FUCK UP!" rang out from the crowd, but that was not what silenced the rioters.

It was the rock which hit Silver in the forehead.

Shock, sheer stunned shock ran through the crowd like a shockwave, Silver putting his hand to his forehead in disbelief. He looked at his palm.

Blood.

The troops stepped forward, brandishing their weapons.

Silver put out his arms hastily, stepping backwards to hold them back.

"_No!_ Don't fire!"

The troopers held back their weapons, but the damage was done. The riots resumed, new shouts ringing out:

"First your robots, now your guns... _Are you trying to kill us?_"

"GET THEM BEFORE THEY GET US!"

Silver and his men retreated into the Parliament Complex. Blaze and Ash were waiting for him.

"Chief Adviser Silver!" Blaze produced a handkerchief, dabbing Silver's cut. "Are you alright?"

Silver blushed in spite of the situation - in spite of himself - because of her closeness. "Yes. It's nothing, Blaze. I had worse during the War for the Surface."

Blaze's look of concern did not change.

"An injury is an injury," she said sagely. "You should get it treated."

"We can only hope that news of this fiasco does not spread," Ash said anxiously.

Silver shook his head, keeping Blaze's handkerchief pressed to his forehead. "It will. Such actions spread like wildfire, in the blink of an eye. Just like when we defeated Darkoak. Except, the feelings are being directed somewhere else: At us."

Blaze gave Silver a worried look. "Silver..."

A fierce determination stole over Silver.

"Someone must be made accountable," he said. "That is how a government functions."

_お前なんか信じられっか__!_

On the peak of the Parliament Complex, Tails, Charmy, Cream, and Molly stood out of their mechas.

Never before, not since Sonic had died, had Charmy or Cream seen Tails look so defeated.

"The Anti-Spiral..." Tails breathed. "Who... are they?"

He turned his head down.

"Cosmo..."

Tails fought to keep the tears back.

"Chao..." breathed Kukku on Tails's shoulder.

The sound of marching footsteps drew their attention.

It was Silver, with a bandage around his forehead. He was followed by about a dozen masked soldiers, each with a machine gun.

Each pointed their machine gun at Tails.

Tails faced Silver.

"What's this all about, Silver?" Tails asked flatly.

Silver only glared at Tails.

"...Silver?"

And in eleven words, Silver struck a dagger in the hearts of everyone present:

"Supreme Commander Miles 'Tails' Prower, I hereby place you under arrest."

**つづく  
To be continued...**

**

* * *

**

次回予告  
Next Episode Preview

Right now, all the "primitive animals" pray in unison, asking for three things:

Prosperity,

Happiness,

And...

...No, right now, they only pray for survival.

Next time on _Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl_: _**"We Will Survive, By Any Means Necessary"**_.


	24. Chapter 23

_(Chapter Twenty-three..._

_I never really liked this episode of the series. So, I'm getting it out of the way in one shot.)_

_

* * *

_

"This is the tale of a man who continues to search for his own path, even when betrayed by his destiny.

"The war between the Spiral races and the Anti-Spiral was the root cause of everything.

"In order to exterminate all Möbiankind, in which Spiral Power lies dormant, the Anti-Spiral sent the Moon plummeting towards Möbius.

"It was Tails and his fellow Freedom Fighters who triggered this calamity.

"Will their struggle for freedom lead to Möbiankind's downfall?

"Having lost Cosmo, Tails is shackled by the handcuffs of despair."

**CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE:  
We Will Survive, By Any Means Necessary**

"_Tails was arrested?_" Vector, Mighty, and Espio shouted indignantly as Vector slammed his glass of beer on the wooden bar table.

"Yeah," Elias muttered, brushing some flecks of beer out of his hair. "And they're gonna hold a trial for him in a week."

Vector growled in frustration, slamming a fist on the table. "Silver's gone _nuts_!"

"Do they really think it's _Tails's_ fault that this is happening?" Knuckles asked, his arms folded sulkily.

"I don't know," replied Elias. "But we _do_ know that the rioters calmed down a little when Tails was taken into custody."

"Even so," Espio chimed in, "It is because of Tails's actions that Möbians were able to live on the surface."

"That's right!" Mighty added. "So we really owe him a lot for doing that for us! How could Silver and the others forg—"

A beer glass smashed into their table from an irate human at a table not too far from them.

"We _owe_ him?" he shouted drunkenly. "It's _his_ fault that the Moon's gonna fall on our heads!"

"Don't you damn government people have more important things to do than drink?" yelled an armadillo-like Black Arms from another table, hurling his beer bottle at the New Government officials. It shattered against the table, sending alcohol and glass flying in every direction.

Vector, Mighty, and Espio stood up, ready to start a bar brawl, Big and Bark joining them —

"_No!_"

It was Knuckles.

"Let them be," he said. "Bear with it."

His companions relaxed a little, but by no means were they assured that bottles and fists would not fly.

"This'll settle down soon..." Knuckles gave Elias a slightly hopeful look. "...Right?"

"I'm not so sure," Elias said, hanging his head. "You heard them out there on the way here, didn't you? 'It's all Tails's fault!' 'He's the one who brought this down on us!' 'Give us Tails!' 'Tails should pay for this!' Don't you think that that's similar to how we were when we took down the Helix King?"

"No _way_! Are you trying to say that Tails is like Lucus Darkoak to them? That can't be true!"

"Unfortunately, think of it from their perspective, Knuckles. The Helix King was a horrible man, don't get me wrong, but he was the lesser of two evils, really, holding back the greater evil from harming us Möbians from _complete _annihilation."

"But... That shouldn't be an excuse to lock him up!"

"Maybe not. But, as far as Silver is concerned, calming the people down is top priority."

_絶望の手錠_

"Silver... why?" Tails asked through gritted teeth, not even bothering to struggle against the cuffs around his wrists. It would be futile, with two troopers aiming machine guns at his back. But did they need to handcuff _Kukku_ too?

Silver did not face Tails as he spoke. He had divested Tails of his Core Drill the moment his cuffs were on.

"Our defeat of Lucus Darkoak is what set this catastrophe in motion. The Great Freedom Fighters are to blame for the Moon falling towards us. The citizens' anger is being directed at the New Government. Your conversation with Cosmo was broadcast live across the world. Everyone on Möbius now knows that the Moon will collide with the planet in three weeks' time. Your reckless fight earlier was also seen by all of Sonic City. I can no longer protect you."

"Protect me?"

"In their eyes, you and Sonic are now no different from Darkoak. In order to placate them, we would punish you in the same manner. Exactly as we could not restrain ourselves from doing seven years ago."

Anger boiled in Tails's chest.

"_Placate _them? And what happens after you put me down? How will you stop the Moon falling?"

"I do not need to tell a convict of my plans to save the people," Silver said coldly. "This is your cell. Please wait in here until your trial."

"_Trial_?"

"We are a nation of laws now, Miles. Questions of war responsibility will be handled in your trial."

Silver turned his back on Tails.

"I have nothing further to say."

Tails bolted up to Silver.

"Wait!"

But the door had already shut in Tails's face.

Tails yelled at the door, "THIS IS EXACTLY HOW YOUR DAD DID THINGS BACK AT GALAHAD VILLAGE, SILVER! YOU AREN'T ANY DIFFERENT!" and Kukku shook a ball-shaped fist at the door, his ball turning into a spiral.

Silver, freezing momentarily at Tails's words, turned to the two troopers who escorted him.

"I will return to my office now," he said. "At ease, men."

They saluted, and departed.

In five minutes' time, he stood outside his office door, and was greeted by Blaze.

"Silver— I mean, Chief Adviser, I hope there was no trouble in escorting... the prisoner... to his waiting cell?"

"No," Silver said calmly. "I was blunt, but tactful."

Blaze looked down at Silver's shoes. "Did you tell him that this isn't... a coup d'état?"

Silver lowered his gaze. "I was unable to secure a moment alone with him. My guards were persistent. If I lose face around _anyone_, they will be crying for _my _blood next."

"I see..."

"Tails is safer out of the public's reach. Who knows what a vigilante would do to him if he...?"

"But where you're sending him is..."

"Only until we have avoided the Möbiankind Annihilation System. Then, Blaze, we will issue Tails a full pardon."

"And if we don't avoid it?"

Silver's answer was silence.

"I have important paperwork, Blaze," Silver lied. "If you'll excuse me."

"Yes, sir," Blaze bowed aside, and Silver stepped into his office.

Silver stepped up to his desk, stared down at the plaque there that read 'CHIEF ADVISER SILVER', discarded in favor of one which read 'NEW SUPREME COMMANDER SILVER'...

And burst into tears, hands grasping the edge of the table for support.

Blaze, lingering outside the door, heard these sobs, and gasped silently.

She knew what he was going through to put their Great Freedom Fighters leader through this.

_暴動_

"So it's true? They arrested Tails?"

"Marine, don't shout," Elias said hurriedly. "But yes, it happened last night just after the battles ended."

"_Why?_ That's so bloody messed up! Silver's become a right old fruit loop!"

Meg, who was weaning Alexis onto a baby bottle, gave the orange raccoon girl a sharp glance.

"Marine, please keep it down. Allie is still easily frightened."

"Oops," Marine smiled nervously.

"Still," Elias said. "What Silver said _does _make a bit of sense. But locking Tails up may only be a temporary solution."

Marine lounged over one of the couches. "That Silver bloke may have it up here—" Marine tapped her forehead. "—but he's short in here." She tapped her heart. "What does Blaze see in 'im?"

"It's one thing to talk like that in here," Elias warned, "But don't let the people out _there_ hear you talking like that." He cast a cautious look out the window; even in this suburban area, an occasional protestor strode by carrying a sign bearing some declamation against the New Government. "You never know what will set people off these days."

_モリー_

Molly supposed her headstrong demeanor was part of the reason why she was chosen to be a Fremerald pilot. That, and her friends Charmy and Cream had become the Captains of the Fremerald Squadron, so she had a bit more of an easy way in than most. Not to say that she got in on connections alone; Molly supposed she was a good pilot.

And right now she was in a meeting with Director Rotor in the Science Bureau, along with Charmy and Cream.

"So, what you have, Director?" she asked, folding her arms.

"Just Rotor is fine," Rotor said from his console, not looking up.

"Okay, Rotor," Molly smiled, uncrossing her arms, "What are the details of that enemy mecha?"

Rotor stopped typing, saved his work, and pulled up a computer simulation of the Anti-Spiral's vanguard mecha, showing blocky Fremerald models around it, each with a Fremerald Rifle in hand.

"From what we can tell, the Zoah's AT Field can be breached by using the Giga Drill to reflect its beam back at it," Rotor said. "The real problem is, how do we keep its body from exploding and causing so much collateral damage?"

"It is a tricky enemy," Cream added.

Rotor nodded in agreement.

"What I don't get is how come Freedom Emerl is superior to the Fremeralds?" Charmy snapped. "It's unfair for the prototype to be more powerful than the production line."

"I wish I knew," Rotor shrugged. "There must be something we missed in the Freedom Emerl research. That, and there weren't enough materials to generate a true Emerl replica."

"So, what do you think is gonna happen with Tails?" asked Chris, descending on a chair mounted on a robot arm.

"You mean his arrest?" Rotor asked.

Bean popped in, the robotic arm holding his chair moving erratically with his quirky hand movements.

"_Arrest?_" Bean quacked. "Is he gonna be executed?"

"Don't say that, Bean!" Charmy said hotly.

"I think Silver may have something up his sleeve," Rotor said, poring over his Zoah data again. "Anyway, our task at hand is to develop new weapons to combat the Anti-Spiral mechas."

"Looks like it's more all-nighters, then," Chris said wearily.

Rotor turned to Bean, holding out a thin slice of data-lined emerald. "Bean, turn this report in to Silver."

"You got it!"

Bean slammed a fist on his control pad...

And Rotor's chair spun like crazy.

"Wh-wh-wh-what... a-a-a-are... y-y-y-you... d-d-d-doing?" Rotor stuttered as he spun.

It stopped abruptly, Rotor's eyes spinning.

"I said, 'Turn in this report', not 'Turn _me_'," Rotor said dizzily.

And inspiration struck.

"Wait... Turning..." Rotor beamed. "That's it! Bean, do that again!"

"You got it!"

And Rotor's chair spun like crazy.

Again.

"I said, not _me_!" Rotor shouted.

Bean just laughed.

_ブルータイフーン_

"We've completed our survey of underground cities," Ash said to the Darkoak Head. "There are 91 cities scattered about the world that are 1000 or more meters underground; these geofronts are far enough underground and shielded heavily enough, we presume, to survive the lunar impact. They are capable of holding a collective total of 1,920,000 people."

The Darkoak Head nodded, affirming Ash's statement.

"That's wonderful news," said Blaze, a relieved smile appearing on her face. "That's more than we expected."

Silver said, "I guess we owe a debt of gratitude to the Möbians of the past who built these cities at the height of their civilizations."

"Still," Ash added, "Those Möbians were no match for Darkoak, who was himself no match for the Anti-Spiral."

"It doesn't matter," Silver said strongly. "We will survive, by any means necessary."

"That leaves 1,080,000 people," Blaze said.

"The citizens of Sonic City will be especially difficult, it seems," Silver noted.

"In my old life," said the Darkoak Head, "I brought _this_ to the planet, in the event that this would happen."

A holographic projector at the base of the bio-computer's nutrient tube, showing the three New Government officials what the Darkoak Head was talking about.

They gasped.

"W-where is it, Darkoak?" Silver asked.

"At Level EE, below Sonic City's Parliament Complex," it said simply.

Minutes later, Silver, Blaze, and Ash were taking the elevator down to Level EE. It was far lower than the elevator was supposed to go, but evidently the LDH bio-computer sent a signal to the elevator's AI system, telling it that Lucus Darkoak wanted to descend to that level.

The walls on all sides of the elevator turned to glass, and they entered an impossibly large hangar, which contained before them, an impossibly large ship, shaped like a drill, but with no grooves down its length, predominantly white, with yellow and blue highlights.

"Amazing...!" Blaze breathed. "That has to be larger than the Parliament Complex!"

"Naturally, the Helix King would have kept this card up his sleeve," Silver stated levelly. "This is Möbiankind's last hope!"

_裁判_

The gavel came down.

"I will now hand down the sentence," Silver said, giving Tails - at the defendant's plinth - a dispassionate gaze. "The defendant, Miles 'Tails' Prower, is guilty of instigating a war against the Anti-Spiral, and is hereby sentenced... to death."

The Great Freedom Fighters - gathered in the stands behind Tails - rose in outrage.

"No way!" Knuckles shouted.

"Get real!" Vector called out.

"How is that a fair verdict?" yelled Ari.

"This doesn't make any sense!" Mighty bellowed.

Knuckles cast a glance around the court room.

"First of all, it was crazy to make Big act as Tails's defense attorney—" Knuckles pointed at the large purple cat in a large black suit, looking quite perplexed about his position. "—and Ash was the prosecutor—" Knuckles pointed at the mongoose, looking somewhat smug in his white suit (Blaze, beside him, tried to look as insignificant as she could). "—and _you_ were the judge!" Knuckles pointed at Silver. "You never had any intention of giving Tails a fair trial! It only started ten minutes ago!"

Silver banged the gavel.

"I will have order in the court, Legal Affairs Bureau Chief Knuckles," Silver replied coolly. "If no one is held responsible for the Anti-Spiral's declaration of war, the public will not be satisfied. Who should we hold responsible, if not Supreme Commander Prower? He is the one who ended the Helix King's life, loosing the floodgates of the Anti-Spiral's wrath."

"But that's no reason to _execute_ him!"

"This may quiet the unrest for now, Silver," Elias said, "But what about later? What about the falling Moon? It's been a week and already the Moon is getting bigger in the sky!"

"An evacuation plan is already underway," Silver answered. "In order to survive, we must quiet down this unrest by whatever means available, and then take calm, swift action."

From his stand, Ash stood and nodded, "Yes, and with Chief Adviser Silver— no, with _New Supreme Commander_ Silver at the heart of this plan."

Murmurs broke out throughout the court room.

"_New_ Supreme Commander...?" growled Knuckles. "_Is this some kinda __coup d'état, Silver?_"

"This is nothing of the sort," was Silver's reply. "The Chief Adviser is next in the line of succession behind the Supreme Commander by law, and the moment he was found guilty of war crimes, I succeeded him..."

But Tails had long since lost his attention for these proceedings.

He was to be executed. When, he did not know. Where, he did not know. How, he did not know.

But he wasn't needed anymore.

He'd never felt more helpless.

_Sonic..._ he thought, staring into a light in the ceiling. _If you were in my shoes... what would _you_ do...?_

Tails swung his head down to stare at his feet...

And stopped midway.

An array of red, green, and pink data lines was glowing in front of him. The cold blue eyes bored into his own.

"Cosmo...?"

Shouts of surprise shot across the room like firecrackers.

"When did _she_ get here?"

"What the...?"

"How did she...?"

Cosmo - floating before Tails's plinth - tilted her dark head slightly, so that her voice would carry through the rest of the room.

"What we Anti-Spiral seek for you Spiral races is absolute despair," she said in her robotic tone. "There is not an iota of hope for you, Spiral race."

"What are you saying, Cosmo?" Tails shouted, slamming his fists into the railing separating him from his once-fiancée. "What do you mean, absolute despair? _Why are you doing this?_"

Cosmo did not answer, but floated towards Tails, her arms lifting up like a sleepwalker, her hands slowly gliding into place on either side of Tails's face, clasping his head between her hands. For a wild moment, Tails thought she was going to kiss him...

She stopped until her eyes, like blue lights on a computer bank, filled his entire forward vision.

"For the next two weeks, meet your end in suffering as you cling desperately to life."

Trying to avoid such an intense gaze, Tails's eyes drifted to the right, towards Cosmo's left hand, the hand where she had put on her engagement ring in her last moments as herself...

_And it was still there._

_But_, Tails thought, _Why wasn't that broken down when she became a program? Why is she keeping it on?_ Hope sprang in Tails's heart. _Unless she's..._

He turned his gaze back to Cosmo, but a digital window opened behind her, and she slowly pulled back and retreated into it.

"No! Cosmo, don't go!"

But the moment the digital window closed, alarms and klaxons blared throughout the court room and the surrounding Parliament Complex.

Silver pulled out a cell phone, "Helen! What's the situation?"

"I'm picking up a Zoah above the planned shelter area of Acorn," said Helen's voice over the PA system into the court room - Elias clenched his fist over the railing. "It's much larger than any we've seen before!"

_The Blue monday e"r"ectrical parade_

A digital window opened up over Acorn Village, far from Sonic City.

Descending from it was a Zoah, but it had no horns on what passed for a head (which was itself very flat and disc-like), and the lower half of its body was a rack from which dozens of normal-sized Zoah were hanging.

"Th-this is Acohn Village!" cried out Bunnie into her mic. "We got ahh-selves a big ol' Zoah clustah comin' down on us...!"

Blue lightning crackled around the Zoah Steed...

And Acorn Village vanished in a crack of thunder.

_眠れペースで_

The recording of Acorn Village's last cry for help had reached the court room where Miles "Tails" Prower had just received his sentence.

Elias fought back tears as he realized that his home village was gone.

"The Zoah have apparently begun moving towards Sonic City," Ash said dispassionately.

"This trial is over!" Silver said shortly. "To the Operations Room!"

He turned to leave.

"Silver!" came a shout from the defendant's plinth. Every eye turned on it, and Silver half-turned to face Tails there.

Tails gave Silver a look of fierce determination.

"Let me pilot Freedom Emerl!"

"What...?"

"Freedom Emerl is our only way of fighting them!"

"So," Ash quipped, "You hope to overturn your sentence by indulging in your heroism?"

"That's not it at all, you!" Tails snapped. "I just want to protect the city!"

"Even so, you are a convicted criminal, a condemned man," Silver said. "How do we know you will not attempt to escape in Freedom Emerl?"

Knuckles stood again, "Silver, you _son of a bitch_!"

"Then wire me up with a bomb!" Tails shouted. "If I look like I'm gonna run, you can push the button!"

Every Great Freedom Fighter present gave Tails a look of shock and awe; did he really want to go that far to pilot Freedom Emerl?

Silver and Tails continued to attempt to stare the other down. And just as Silver began to open his mouth—

His cell phone rang.

"New Supreme Commander Silver," he answered. "...It's done? ...Good. Dispatch them." A hint of a smile appeared on Silver's face. "Very good, Director Rotor. Bye."

He closed his cell phone.

"What was _that_?" Tails asked.

"Freedom Emerl has been made obsolete," Silver said shortly, holding up Tails's Core Drill. "It will be dismantled. We don't need you anymore."

For a moment, Knuckles thought that Tails was going to insist that he pilot Freedom Emerl, and that he would not rest until Silver acquiesced...

So he was surprised when Tails nodded slowly and said, "I understand."

Silver addressed the two troopers behind him.

"Take him away."

_燃えてばかりでいいのかい__?_

"Alright, you Zoah bastards!" Charmy shouted. "We're gonna show you what the Fremeralds can _really_ do!"

Each Fremerald carried a weapon, but these were markedly different from their guns and blades. Cream's Fremerald, Cheese, carried a missile launcher decorated with spiral lines down its barrel. Charmy's, Buzz Buzz, carried a spiral-decorated rifle, as did Molly's Fremerald, Cascade, as well as the two other Fremeralds.

"Let's go! Tornado Formation!" Charmy ordered.

The Fremeralds broke their flying formation as they met the Zoah Steed some distance between the Capital and the remains of Acorn Village, spiralling around Cream's Gizoid as they flew to meet the enemy Zoah.

"Spiral Bomber, fire!" Cream shouted, the spiral markings on her missile launcher glowing as a blue blast of energy tore towards the Anti-Spiral mecha.

The many normal-sized Zoah began to break free.

"Oh no you don't!" Charmy yelled. "Erect the Tornado Shield!"

The four spiralling Fremeralds fired their Tornado rifles simultaneously, the blue rays of energy twisting around each other as they lanced towards the Zoah.

The Spiral Bomber struck first.

The Zoah Steed began to transform into polygons.

The Tornado Shield struck next, trapping the normal-sized Zoah.

The Zoah Steed burst apart, the polygonal shards of explosive energy colliding with the walls of the Tornado Shield, causing all the regular Zoah to self-destruct as well.

Not a single explosive charge struck the landscape.

In the Science Bureau, Chris was beside himself.

"You did it, Rotor!" he said brightly.

"Making it in time is part of the job, Chris," Rotor said sagely. "Now, we gotta refine it so that the Tornado Shield fires from the same armament as the Spiral Bomber..."

_ブルータイフーン_

Television screens all around Möbius showed the same image of the Great Freedom Fighters emblem bearing the message: 'WE INTERRUPT THIS BROADCAST FOR AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE', followed by a blonde-haired human woman saying, "Stand by for an urgent message from the government. I repeat, stand by for an urgent message from the government."

(Sound-only devices played the sound of this message only.)

A silver hedgehog appeared on every television on the planet, his hands folded on his desk.

"My fellow Möbians. I am New Supreme Commander Silver, and I bear ill tidings... and words of hope. The surface will be severely damaged by an attack involving dropping the Moon, carried out by unknown enemies calling themselves the Anti-Spiral. In response, the New Government pressed charges against ex-Supreme Commander Miles 'Tails' Prower. As a result of his trial today, he was sentenced to death."

Cheers erupted all about Möbius at Silver's words, and he paused for a period of time he felt appropriate to allow people to let their feelings loose. He did not betray any emotion at Tails's situation, but continued after about ten seconds.

"To protect its citizens from the impending lunar impact, the government will carry out a large-scale evacuation plan. Citizens will be evacuated to 91 giant underground shelters around the world. Residents in the Sonic City area, which has no shelter, will temporarily leave the stratosphere in the Superdreadnought Star Meta-Gizoid." Silver's brows furrowed. "And this is that Star Meta-Gizoid: The Blue Typhoon!"

Silver's image was replaced with that of a large starship, long and white, with blue and yellow accents.

**ブルータイフーン  
Blue Typhoon**

Around Möbius, murmurs of assent and awe rumbled.

After five seconds of the Blue Typhoon's image, Silver's returned.

"Have faith in the New Government! We will not be defeated by the Anti-Spiral!" Silver held up a fist. "We will survive, _no matter what_!"

Three million Möbians across the world erupted in cheers. In Sonic City's central square - which had since been cleared of the debris of Sonic's statue - certain voices stood out, many chanting Silver's name.

"_YES!_"

"This will keep us alive!"

"We're gonna survive!"

Silver felt a bizarre mixture of elation and guilt. He so wanted to be able to save these people, but he did not want to have sent Tails away out of sight, in the hopes that the people would not try to put him down personally.

It wasn't the best place to hide Tails away, but it was safer than most places.

_When this is all over_, Silver thought, _I will apologize profusely to Tails for my recent actions..._

_ラップは漢の魂…だった…よな…_

Tails did not resist the removal of his New Government outfits, nor did he put up a fight when he was herded into a cargo elevator at the edge of Sonic City with other, similarly convicted criminals.

Nor when the other convicts began to deliberate bump their elbows into his sides roughly, or when they "accidentally" stepped on his feet or his tails.

He wasn't needed anymore.

He'd done his part.

Now it was Silver's turn to save Möbius.

The cargo elevator rumbled to life, taking him down...

**マイルス ****"****テイルス****" ****パウアー元総司令  
Former Supreme Commander Miles "Tails" Prower,**

**超弩級戦犯により  
by reason of major war crimes,**

**死刑  
is sentenced to death**

The elevator took Tails down into a subterranean prison constructed mostly from purple stone.

Tails, who once aimed for the heavens, was now being forced back underground.

**刑の****執行****までマーブル刑務所に収監。  
To be held in Marble Prison until sentence carried out.**

After being strip-searched, deloused, and debriefed, Tails was led to his cell, and the guard unlocked it. Evidently, he was sympathetic to Tails's plight, because he did not manhandle Tails's wrists as he undid Tails's handcuffs, nor did he roughly shove Tails in as he had the other prisoners in Tails's group.

Tails looked up at the ceiling, and sighed deeply.

"Well, well... Look who we have here..."

Tails's breath caught in his chest. It couldn't be... Not in the cell next to his... The odds were so great...

But there was no mistaking that black fur, with red stripes, or those blood-colored eyes, or that derisive tone...

"Welcome to Marble Prison... 'Supreme Commander'," sneered Shadow.

**つづく  
To be continued...**

**

* * *

**

次回予告  
Next Episode Preview

Even hope will change to despair in an instant.

The best option quickly unravels and becomes the worst possible choice.

But I will still make that decision.

And then, they will...

Next time on _Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl_: _**"How Far Does God Intend to Test Us?"**_.


	25. Chapter 24

_(Chapter Twenty-four. How much worse could things get?_

_A _lot_ worse actually. We'll see why in this chapter!_

_Also, of course I'm in a bit of a _Watership Down _mood right now. Why do you ask?)_

_

* * *

_

"This is the tale of a man who continues to search for his own path, even when betrayed by his destiny.

"Two weeks remain until the Moon slams into Möbius's surface.

"To quell the panic of the populace, Silver pursues charges of war crimes against Tails.

"Tails is sentenced to death.

"What does he find waiting for him in the prison he is sent to?"

_マーブル刑務所_

Shadow smirked slightly. "Oh. I forgot. You're _not _the Supreme Commander anymore, aren't you? Now you're just a war criminal."

Tails glared at him.

"We still get news from the outside world in here," Shadow continued. "Congratulations on awakening the Anti-Spiral's wrath and activating the Möbiankind Annihilation System, exactly as the Helix King was working to _prevent_.

"But, it's interesting, isn't it, fox boy? Both the Black Arms rebel and the hero of the Möbian liberation, now imprisoned as equals thanks to those 'trials' of yours. Möbian wisdom certainly has its moments."

Tails laid down on his cot, ignoring Shadow.

He stared at the ceiling intensely, as though hoping his gaze would break through the mile or so of rock overhead to the falling rock in the sky.

"Two more weeks..." he muttered.

_月急落_

Rotor tapped furiously at the keyboard, keying in the necessary information regarding mass and density, velocity and acceleration, force and resistance. He'd been working at this for eight hours now; a mug of coffee sat beside him on a spiral-decorated coaster.

He clicked the mouse.

The video played before him.

He turned white, sweat beading.

"What... is this...?"

**CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR:  
How Far Does God Intend to Test Us?**

All about Möbius, people of every persuasion - human, anthro, and Black Arms - trudged through all manner of landscape - forest, desert, plains, swamp, mountain - to reach the nearest designated shelter. They were told not to trouble themselves with anything more than two weeks' worth of clothing; they would only be out of the stratosphere until such time as it was safe to land after lunar impact.

In the New Supreme Commander's Office at the Parliament Complex - formerly known as the Chief Adviser's Office - Blaze and Ash stood before Silver's desk, the New Supreme Commander's hands folded in front of his mouth and nose, a posture he'd picked up from the chief of Gendo Village some two years after the fall of Greengate. A holographic globe of Möbius hovered over Silver's desk.

"Evacuation percentage of the Pfeffa region is currently at 68%," Blaze said. "Lendri region, 32%. Yona region, 44%. Homba region, 56%. In the remaining six days, eighteen hours before lunar impact, the evacuation will be 98% complete."

"Evacuation of the Sonic City residents aboard the Blue Typhoon is at 28%. It is proceeding smoothly, and should be complete three days before lunar impact," Ash said.

"Good," said Silver. "Try to get it up to speed, and ensure that the projected 2% remaining make it into shelters as well." Unfolding his hands, he tapped a button on his desk. A holographic monolith reading 'ROTOR - SOUND ONLY' in bold red letters appeared in place of the globe. "Rotor, what's the status of the Moon?"

"Falling slowly," said the monolith. "Current calculations show that it will make atmospheric entry in ten days, six hours, and twenty-three minutes."

"The Moon will also begin to affect the surface as it draws closer," said Silver, resuming what had become known as the Gendo pose. "Let's get everyone into their shelters as quickly as possible."

"Yes, sir," said Ash, saluting.

The monolith took on a more light tone.

"You wear the mantle of leader well, Supreme Commander Silver."

"That doesn't matter," Silver replied. "I'm doing what _must_ be done to save Möbius, nothing more."

"That's very mature of you, Silver," said the 'ROTOR' monolith, a smile evident in his tone. "So, what say we meet on a date?"

Silver slipped a little in his spinning chair, his Gendo pose faltering.

"R-Rotor, what about you and Cobar...?"

"Oh, we're fine. I meant, I have something _very_ important to tell you. When can you be at the Science Bureau? I'd like you to see this in person."

"See what?"

"I can't explain here. You'll have to come to my office."

Silver nodded. "Understood. I'll be there in five."

"Okay, I'll be waiting."

The 'ROTOR - SOUND ONLY' monolith disappeared in a _whoosh_ing sound.

Several levels below, a 'SUPREME COMMANDER SILVER - SOUND ONLY' monolith disappeared, and Rotor sighed.

"I hope that he doesn't wear himself out," he murmured.

_狼が来た__!_

Murmurs broke out in the Marble Prison cafeteria.

"Even if we eat, isn't the Moon gonna end everything when it hits, right?"

"Yeah, we have some Supreme Commander guy to thank for that."

"I won't turn down the food, though."

"Won't this place make it out okay? We're underground, I mean."

"Dumbass! This place wasn't built to survive something _that_ big hitting overhead."

"I heard there are people up on the surface being evacuated underground, too. Will they die, too?"

"Save us again, O Supreme Commander!"

Tails sat in silence, eating his prison food. It was not terrible, but it was not a five-star meal either.

In any case, if he stayed out of it, they would leave him be...

Was what Tails thought would work.

A passing prisoner, a green hedgehog, accidentally-on-purpose, knocked Tails to the floor.

"Oops! Sorry for knocking you over, _Supreme Commander_!" sneered the green hedgehog, his grin revealing teeth sharpened to fangs.

A short human man with a needle-like nose and a few strands of hair on his otherwise bald head accidentally-on-purpose knocked Tails's tray all over Tails.

"Oh my! So _sorry_, Supreme Commander!" he said in an oily tone.

An elderly white echidna who carried himself with a regal air scraped his foot around in the gravy-like sauce of Tails's spilled meal.

"What's wrong? Why aren't you eating, _Supreme Commander_?" he sneered.

The green hedgehog, grinning again, shoved Tails's face onto the cement floor, smearing his face back and forth in the spilled gravy as the other prisoners laughed uproariously.

Less than an hour later, Tails was in the showers, where, thankfully, people actually left him alone... relatively speaking. He had to endure jeers and verbal abuse aplenty, but he could ignore that.

It happened when he was drying himself off outside the showers.

The sound of a large hand swinging through the air alerted him.

He dodged the avian Black Arms's swipe narrowly.

"What the...?"

"I will avenge General Blacknarcissus's death!" she squawked angrily, hate dancing in her eyes.

"General Blacknarcissus...? One of the Four Helix Generals?"

"Yes, Prower! I was there the day you killed him! You were the one who stole my Gizoid so that your infernal Freedom Emerl could fly! And if you hadn't killed General Blacknarcissus, I would still be flying in the sky right now!" She held up her arms, showing the vestiges of what must have been exquisite black-and-red plumage. "Look what your guards did to me when I came in! They tore my feathers out so I couldn't fly anymore!" Tears appeared in the corners of her eyes. "I'm a disgrace of a Black Arms!" She glared again. "And it's all because of you... _PROWER_!"

She swiped at him with her talons, Tails dodging swiftly.

Once.

Twice.

Thrice.

A leg sweep brought Tails down.

A red glint in the Black Arms bird girl's eyes, she raised her right hand, talons glinting dangerously.

"_DIE!_"

A leg flew in from nowhere, pinning the Black Arms face-first to the wall.

She looked at her assailant.

"Sh-Shadow...?"

"Shut your beak for a while," Shadow said simply.

"You...! Of all people, why are _you_ siding with this turd? And you call yourself a Black Arms?"

"It's _because_ I'm a Black Arms that I can't stand the sight of _weak _ones like_ YOU_!" Shadow roundhouse-kicked her into the wall. The Black Arms fell to the floor, unconscious.

Shadow turned to Tails, picking himself up.

"Oh, how the mighty two-tailed freak has fallen," he sneered.

"What?" Tails got onto one knee. Tails saw a number of deep scars all across Shadow's torso.

"You've lost Freedom Emerl, you've lost your flower-girl, and you've lost your friends. Now that you're just another dirty animal, you can't even _fight_?"

"What are you getting at?" Tails growled, balling his fists.

"Even barehanded, the blue hedgehog stood his own against me."

Tails stood up. "_Shut up!_"

"Oh, is that _anger_ I see in your eyes? If you don't like it, _do_ something about it!"

With a yell, Tails bolted towards Shadow, a fist drawn back...

And Shadow dodged.

Spinning around, Tails brought his other fist around, but had to leap over Shadow to avoid Shadow's right chop.

By this time, the other prisoners had noticed a fight was going on.

"Whoa, a fight!"

"Yeah, a fight!"

"Kill 'im, Shadow!"

"_Get 'im!_"

Shadow faced Tails again.

"So, you _aren't _entirely helpless, after all."

The Black Arms bird woke up, spotted Shadow, and leapt up, drawing a clawed hand back.

"He's _my_ prey, so BACK OFF!"

She sliced open Shadow's jugular.

Shadow's eyes widened slightly, green blood spilling down his chest from his neck...

And he grabbed the Black Arms's outstretched arm, brought his leg around again, and sent her beak-first flying into the wall.

Then, not believing what he saw, Tails witnessed the wounds on Shadow's neck seal up almost instantly, without even a scar left.

"That's...?"

"The immortal body given to me by the Helix King, with the order to forever bear witness," Shadow said hoarsely, his voice regaining its original tone after a few seconds. "And after all that, what I have to witness is _you_, reduced to fighting in a _towel_ in _prison_?" He scoffed. "This is too much!"

"What do _you_ know about it?" Tails glowered at Shadow. "I'm just doing what I need to do!"

They dived at each other, the fight resuming.

"That's a good one!" Shadow shouted. "So, doing nothing is what you _need to do_? You've really become the Helix King now!"

"Take that back!"

"Is this the future you Möbians won by defeating us? It's unforgivable!"

"I never asked for your forgiveness!"

The Black Arms bird girl drowsily sat up again, gazing dizzily at the two-tailed fox and the hedgehog-shaped Black Arms leaping away from each other.

Then she glowered.

"Shitheads, blowing me off like I'm nothing...!"

She leapt up.

"Go to hell!" Shadow yelled, throwing a fist forward.

"You first!" Tails returned, intending to match Shadow's move.

"YOU TWO ARE DEAD MEAT!" screeched the Black Arms bird girl.

Both fists met her on either side of the head.

Which was when the prison guards showed up, waving their night-sticks threateningly at the hordes of rowdy inmates.

"NO FIGHTING! NO FIGHTING!"

"WHO STARTED THIS?"

Every hand pointed at Tails and Shadow.

"Those two!"

"They did, sir!"

"They ganged up on that girl there!"

Tails and Shadow gaped.

_ラップは漢の魂…だった…よな…_

"Look at you," hissed Shadow from his solitary confinement cell, across from Tails's. The two of them had had their hands shackled to the wall behind them, and they would stay like that for a week. "Your woman abandoned you. Your friends abandoned you. Your _Möbians_ abandoned you. How wretched it is to see the man who defeated the Helix King having fallen so far."

"It doesn't matter," the fox boy muttered, and Shadow was stunned to hear the resignation in it. "There's nothing I need to do anymore. I've been replaced. Freedom Emerl has been made obsolete. It's gonna be scrapped. Does that make you happy, Shadow?"

"I'm never happy." Shadow bowed his head. "But... I feel... like I did when the blue hedgehog died."

"You felt _bad_ that Sonic died?"

"No, I didn't! I just... wanted to fight him more than I did. And now... he's gone to where I can't fight him anymore. It was tough, knowing that I would never face him in battle again."

Shadow looked up at the fox boy again.

"So, what do you mean by, 'nothing you need to do anymore'?"

"Silver will take care of the rest," the fox boy said, a vague smile on his face. "He's the kind of leader Möbius needs. The leader it's _always _needed. I've never fit into this New Government. I've always been a fighter, not a leader. Silver is ready to take Möbius forward. That just leaves me, Miles Prower, Tails The Digger, to climb back into my hole." The fox boy chuckled. "Oh, why am I still calling myself a Digger? I don't have my Core Drill anymore. Nothing to dig for, either.

"Yeah... This place is perfect for me."

_コンピュータシミュレーション_

"How far does God intend to test us?" Silver breathed. He was almost as white as his own fur. Rotor sat beside him, not looking at him, but looking solemn.

"I can understand if you don't want to believe it," Rotor said lowly. "If you don't want to, don't. It's just a simulation, after all."

"In my position right now, I have no choice _but _to believe," Silver said, sweating profusely. "Was it wrong? Was it wrong for Möbians to dream of living on the surface, of going to outer space? Are we Möbius so sinful that we don't deserve even _that_?"

"It's the Anti-Spiral who see things that way," Rotor said. "God's will has nothing to do with it."

_ブレイズ_

Knuckles was wandering the deck of the Blue Typhoon, aimlessly watching the translucent tubes leading from the ceiling, bringing in steady amounts of citizens and supplies.

He spotted Blaze by one.

"Yo!" he said, waving a mitt in the air.

She didn't turn, keeping her eyes on her clipboard, ticking off boxes as each elevator descended down the tube in front of her.

"So, uhh..." he said, trying not to sound too energetic, in case it irritated Blaze. "How are things going down here?"

"In terms of overall progress," Blaze said levelly, "We are behind by 48%."

Knuckles, deciding that this conversation wouldn't really lead anywhere - Blaze looked really busy - turned to leave.

Two minutes later, he passed another elevator tube, and on the latest descending platform was a cage, and inside it...

_Wow, that really takes me back!_ he thought, smirking. _Warble-runners! Geez, I remember Blaze used to be so terrified of riding those things...!_

Knuckles watched until the cage of warble-runners descended into the Blue Typhoon, then looked up to the next one.

He started.

_Wait, those are... slime-grape hippos!_ And in the next one down... _And... pig-moles? But... it's the _people_ we need to get into the Blue Typhoon, not _animals_! Something's up, and I don't think Silver's gonna open a zoo in outer space._

Knuckles furrowed his brow, marching off.

He would find out what was happening, by hook or by crook.

_メガネで決めよう_

The LDH bio-computer had been deactivated and moved from its home in the Parliament Complex to the bridge of the Blue Typhoon, set in a glass jar filled with nutrient fluid atop a pedestal the height of a human of average height.

"Now hooking up the Lucus Darkoak Head," said Chris.

"This was once the Helix King," said Ash, tentatively looking at the head's closed eyes. "Are you certain that this is safe?"

"Even if there is, we don't have much choice," Rotor explained. "The Blue Typhoon will only activate when presented with Darkoak's bio-signature. Like how Emerl will only activate when Tails is in the cockpit and when the Core Drill is inserted."

"Still," Ash tried to mask his concern, "What if the bio-computer develops the Helix King's personality?"

Rotor gave a slightly weary smile.

"You really worry a lot, don't you? If it's such a big deal to you, you can always strap on a bomb and sit next to it."

Ash balked, and walked away.

"If this doesn't work out," Ari said, flicking the glass with a finger as Chris hooked up wires to the Darkoak Head's neck, "It's gonna be more all-nighters for us. And we're on a tight schedule as it is."

"I haven't had a good night's sleep in seven years," grumbled Chris from below the Drakoak Head. After a few moments, he slid back out, wiping sweat from his brow. "Well, that's the last connection."

Rotor looked out across the bridge.

"Alright! Blue Typhoon Spiral Engine! Begin final activation checklist!"

"You got it! Activating!" shouted Bean, pushing a large red button.

The Darkoak Head's eyes snapped open, green light poured from its eyes and mouth as it let out a rising scream.

"You _idiot_! Not yet!" Rotor yelled.

The main console lit up, showing a spiral gauge, hovering at about half-full.

The Spiral Energy of those on board the Blue Typhoon.

Every console lit up green. Beneath the bridge, the main engine rumbled to life.

The Blue Typhoon had activated.

"Super Spiral Engine, startup complete," said the bio-computer.

Rotor gave an awkward smile, "Well... I guess it worked."

"For me, nothing is impossible," replied the Darkoak Head.

"That's pretty big talk, for someone who's just a head." Rotor addressed the entire bridge. "Well, that's that, everyone!"

High-fives swept the bridge.

"I will go inform Supreme Commander Silver at once," said Ash, a shadow of a smile on his face.

Ash had gotten halfway from the bridge to Supreme Commander Silver's provisional office on the Blue Typhoon, when he met...

"Legal Affairs Bureau Chief Knuckles."

Knuckles nodded, grinned...

And pinned Ash to the wall.

"W-what are you doing?" he asked.

"You're one of Silver's top ass-kissers," Knuckles growled. "You're gonna tell me everything you know, Ash."

"I... don't know what you mean..."

Knuckles forced the mongoose further into the wall.

"_Don't be a retard!_ Why are you guys loading _animals_ onto the Blue Typhoon? A whole lot of 'em, too. That's space we need for people! Why all the animals?"

"I... I don't know."

Knuckles's eyebrows connected. "Y'know, if you got laid, you probably wouldn't be so uptight." He sighed. "Okay. If you won't talk, I'll take a guess, then. Something bad's gonna happen to the surface, isn't it? And that's why our _sweet, softhearted Silver_ is gonna save even the poor, helpless animals, is _that it_?"

Ash broke into sweat, but didn't contradict Knuckles.

Knuckles let Ash slide back to the floor.

"So I'm right." It wasn't a question. "Now. Start explaining."

Ash looked Knuckles in the eye, holding his throat.

"It's—"

"It's because we will have to live in space, aboard the Blue Typhoon, for a year," explained a voice behind Knuckles.

Knuckles turned and faced Silver. Behind him was Rotor.

"Silver?"

"You are a government official, too," Silver said, his hands behind his back. "If that is how you feel, then shoulder the burden yourself." He beckoned. "Come with me."

_絶滅_

The computer screen showed a large sphere, a grid of blue squares running across its surface, and a sphere about a third the blue ball's size with a gridwork of white squares. It followed a line around the blue sphere. Then the line disappeared, and the white sphere continued in its orbit, spiraling in towards the blue sphere. Finally, it impacted, and the blue squares on the larger sphere were blasted off, replaced with yellow ones.

Knuckles went pale.

"What... the hell...?"

"This is a simulation of what will happen when the Moon impacts Möbius," Rotor explained in as level a tone as he could muster. "I never rendered anything this big, so it took a while to process it."

Silver began to fiddle with his collar; he looked like he was baking.

"But... this means..." Knuckles next words seemed like as much a realization to himself as a revelation to everyone else. "This means that the _whole surface _is gonna be wiped out!"

"Not _just _the surface," Rotor explained. "The underground, too. The entire outer surface of the planet Möbius - all of the crust - will be stripped from the planet by the shock of the Moon's impact. And then, the world will be blanketed in white-hot gases. Everything that wasn't thrown into space by the Moon's impact will be incinerated. After that, Möbius won't be capable of supporting _any_ kind of life for an entire year. And even then the chances of Möbius still being habitable are remote."

"So, what're you saying?" asked Knuckles, rounding on Silver, furious that the white hedgehog was staring at his own feet and not saying a word. "You're just gonna let all the people in the underground shelters _die_?"

Silver looked up at Knuckles, and Knuckles saw the shadows under Silver's eyes. Silver looked a hundred years old.

"Do you have any other ideas?" he said in a breaking voice. "The Blue Typhoon can't carry three million people!"

Knuckles clenched his large fists, "Then... then why don't we use this thing to _destroy _the Moon? The Blue Typhoon is huge! There has to be nothing it can't do!"

"We considered that, too," Silver said, "But it's too risky. If we fail, Möbiankind will _truly_ go extinct. Are you ready to bear _that_ responsibility, Knuckles?"

Knuckles grit his teeth, but did not answer. There was nothing he could say. Nothing remotely polite, anyway.

"We will save every life we can. And not just Möbians and Black Arms. The Blue Typhoon will become like the Ark of legend, bearing every creature of the planet while divine wrath ravages the world. What the Blue Typhoon carries within it will become a second Möbius." Silver looked like he was desperate for verification of that thought. "We will take aboard every creature of the earth, sky, and sea, and live in space for a year until Möbius cools down. That's all we can do. Am I wrong?"

Knuckles looked down at his feet. Drips of sweat rolled down his nose, falling to the floor below.

"No... No, you're not wrong."

Knuckles's teeth grinded against each other.

"But that don't mean I gotta _like_ it."

**つづく  
To be continued...**

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次回予告  
Next Episode Preview

The leader's role is not to fight.

The leader's role is to make the hard decisions.

And when I make it, we will...

Next time on _Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl_: _**"My Decision Is Made"**_.


	26. Chapter 25

_(Chapter Twenty-five. Things have gotten worse, haven't they?_

_I find I'm still trying to keep my update schedule consistent, in spite of my summer job.)_

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**CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE:  
My Decision Is Made**

Knuckles crossed his arms bitterly as the taxi hobbled down the streets. Its rear left leg was a bit snarky, but there would be no time to fix it. It was being left behind on Möbius, along with practically every vehicle apart from the Fremeralds.

It came to a stop outside of 121 Chestnut Lane.

Elias's pad.

"Keep the change," Knuckles said shortly, handing a bill over to the cab driver, not knowing or caring if it was enough. "Not sure how long you'll have to spend it, though, so don't get too attached to it."

And without a backward glance at the puzzled and wondrous look on the cabby's face, Knuckles strode up the path to Elias's home, and saw the man of the house leaning on the railing of his porch, his wife and daughter sitting on a swing by the window. Marine was attempting to tickle Alexis's tummy.

"Yo."

Elias gave a small sort of smile, a bushy eyebrow raised. "So you finally showed up, 'Uncle' Knuckles."

Knuckles shrugged, standing next to Elias and resting his arms on the railing as well.

"I gotta see her _some_time before we leave Möbius," he said lowly.

"You make it sound like you won't get another chance," Meg said with a half-smile.

Knuckles ignored this.

"So... how is she?" he asked.

"She's healthy," Meg smiled broadly. "I thought she would suck me dry when she nursed."

"And when she cries..." Marine put her fists in the air. "Cover your ears!"

Knuckles chuckled, facing Elias.

"So, I heard you submitted your resignation."

Elias nodded.

"Word travels fast. Sorry to bail on you guys, but I really want to be with Meg and Allie before all this happens."

"You guys really should get to the Blue Typhoon soon!" Knuckles said sharply, cutting to the chase. "There ain't gonna be room on that thing forever, and it's less than a week before the Moon's supposed to hit!"

"We were just about to head out, actually, Knuckles," said Elias, slightly crossly. "We were just taking one last look over Sonic City before we get in the car."

"Oh." Knuckles scratched the back of his head. "Sorry 'bout that."

"Don't sweat it."

Knuckles sniffed loudly. "Y'know, maybe Sonic picked the right time to die."

"Sorry, Knuckles," Elias looked back at his small family, "But a baby girl means more to me right now than a dead man."

Knuckles bowed his head. "Right. Guess I can't blame you."

The two men - as close as brothers-in-law - looked up at the sky.

The Moon now covered the sky almost completely, creating nighttime conditions between the hours of nine in the morning and three in the afternoon, leaving only six hours of daytime in the city below. With very little sunlight able to strike the Moon's near side at its current proximity to Möbius, it was much dimmer in the night sky, but during the daytime-night hours, the sky surrounding the Moon was surrounded by a faint halo-like corona, forever telling of the large black ceiling that now hung over Sonic City.

"Looks like there's a ceiling in the sky now, doesn't it?" Elias wondered.

Knuckles chuckled a little, "Yeah, it does, doesn't it?"

Less than a week until lunar impact...

Knuckles faced Elias. "Hey, Elias?"

"Hmm?" Elias glanced back at his family.

Knuckles was going to tell him about the true devastation that would be wrought on Möbius by the Moon's impact...

Then he shook his head.

"Nah, it's nothing. We better get into the car soon. That's just about all we _can_ do, what with Silver pretty much _being_ the New Government right now." Knuckles gave a bitter 'ha' as he looked up at the Moon again. "We're so useless right now."

And dark blotches appeared about the Moon's surface.

No.

Not on the Moon.

In the space between Möbius and the Moon.

Specifically, the airspace over Sonic City.

And hundreds of Zoah descended onto the Möbian capital.

Every alarm in Sonic City went off at once.

Knuckles, Elias, Meg, and Marine's hearts began to hammer.

Alexis began to cry.

The Zoah rounded on the Parliament Complex as one.

The dark sky turned bright blue.

And the Parliament Complex vanished in a column of black smoke.

"WHAT THE _FUCK_?" Knuckles bellowed.

"_The Zoah?_" Elias asked.

_どうだ！俺のトランペットは凄いだろう！！_

The Blue Typhoon rocked violently below Sonic City, the lights flickering from the tremors above.

"What in the world was that?" Silver asked as soon as power steadied itself.

"A massive amount of Zoah have appeared overhead and unleashed a concentrated beam attack!" Helen said from her station. "The Parliament Complex has suffered massive damage!" Looking back at her display, she paled. "A second wave, incoming!"

The lights flickered and the room shook again.

"Parliament Complex, destroyed!" Helen's voice shrieked over the din.

"The attacks are concentrated underneath the Parliament Complex!" Ash called from his terminal.

"I don't believe it... Have they detected the presence of the Blue Typhoon?" Silver breathed, clenching his station with tight fists.

Rotor's image appeared on the Blue Typhoon's main monitor.

"It's entirely possible," he said. "They must have picked up a powerful Spiral Power source, and that must be why they're attacking."

"Is there nothing we can do?" Silver addressed Ash. "Run a search in the Darkoak Head! I don't care if it works for a tenth of a second, find some way to negate the Anti-Spiral energy attacks!"

Ash typed away at his terminal, and a few moments later, a computer-generated model of the Blue Typhoon appeared on the main monitor in a split screen with Rotor's face. A spiraling orb appeared around the Blue Typhoon.

"What's this?" Silver asked.

"Looks like some sort of energy shield," Rotor commented.

"It is a Spiral Power Shield, powered by the Spiral Power of Spiral lifeforms," said the Darkoak Head. "This is a Spiral battleship. Naturally, it would be equipped with a defensive shield."

_オドネル_

Pandemonium reigned in the streets of Sonic City as the Zoah, having destroyed the governmental center of Möbius in just two blasts, turned their energy towards Sonic City itself. People of every persuasion hastened towards the nearest Blue Typhoon elevator, sometimes knocking down other people and inadvertently trampling them to death.

Overhead, the Fremerald Squadrons, equipped with newly constructed Spiral Shield Rifles, fired on the Zoah. The Spiral Shield Rifle discharged a destructive blast towards the Zoah, erecting a spiraling shield instantly around the Zoah in place of the digital robots' AT Fields, containing its explosive energy until it dissipated.

However, the Fremeralds were vastly outnumbered.

"It's nice to be able to take them out in one shot, but there's _tons_ of them!" shouted Charmy in his Fremerald, Buzz Buzz.

"Suck it up!" shouted back Frances, a freckled human girl from her Fremerald. "We gotta hold them back as long as possible!"

Down below, other Fremeralds were attempting to maintain some semblance of order.

"Please, proceed calmly and swiftly to the nearest Blue Typhoon entrance," said Cream's Fremerald, Cheese, in her gentle but firm voice.

"It's safe in the Blue Typhoon!" called out Molly's, Cascade. "Please hurry to the underground tunnels!"

Back at 121 Chestnut Lane...

Knuckles slammed the car door shut as soon as Marine sat in the back seat.

"Get outta here, Elias," Knuckles said.

Then a Zoah descended through the smoke overhead.

"PEDAL TO THE METAL, ELIAS!" Knuckles roared.

"What about you?" Elias asked.

"_You still got your rifle in the house?_"

"From my Freedom Fighter days? Why?"

Knuckles pulled aside part of his New Government jacket, revealing...

"These are Spiral shells!" he said, indicating the red bullets with helical grooves on his ammo belt, and, without waiting for an answer, bolted into Elias's house, returning moments later with Elias's rifle. "This oughta slow that bastard down!"

"_Bro!_" Marine yelled, rolling down the window and reaching for Knuckles, but the echidna, loading Spiral shells - one of the earliest developments of the Spiral Power Research Institute - into the rifle, did not notice.

"I'm not about to let you people die, least of all my cute little niece," he growled. Granted, Alexis was not his biological niece, but the Wandering Orphans's fraternity was all but blood. "Go on without me, Elias! Meg... look after Blaze for me."

Knuckles cocked the rifle and fired.

The Zoah very noticeably drifted back a few feet.

"HAUL YOUR ASS! IT'S GONNA OPEN FIRE ANY SECOND!" Knuckles bellowed.

A moment of hesitation, and Elias floored the pedal, and the car galloped away down the street.

Knuckles fired at the Zoah three more times.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

The Zoah opened fire.

Knuckles disappeared in stream of blue light.

"_KNUCKLES!_"

Suddenly, a large shape split the blue light.

A large, helmet-shaped shape.

Lobo's Gizoid, O'Donnell!

"Get back, Knuckles!" Lobo called out from within.

"_Lobo?_" Knuckles called out, stepping further back into O'Donnell's shadow.

"Sorry I'm late," Lobo quipped. "Took a while to find a sitter for the kids."

Knuckles let loose a loud, sharp laugh. "That tells me a lot about what your family life is like!"

O'Donnell's blade swung wide, deflecting the Zoah's energy bolt, and a pair of missile launchers concealed in its shoulders fired at the Zoah, which spiraled up into the air, detonating and showering the inside of a Spiral Shield with explosive charges.

"Nice toys you brought to the party," Knuckles grinned.

"Spiral Shield Missiles we made as a government subcontract," Lobo returned the grin. "We held on to some spares just in case."

Back in Elias's family car, Marine, her hands still pressed against the rear window, had borne witness to this latest development.

"Bro's alright!" she cried out.

Meg let out a deep sigh.

Elias narrowed his eyes.

That eighteen-legger... It took up the entire two lanes going the _opposite_ direction.

_Away_ from the Blue Typhoon loading tunnels.

He caught a glimpse of a gray wolf woman giving him the thumbs-up from the driver's seat.

In his rear-view mirror, in the split-second he allowed himself to divert his eyes from the road, he saw King Knuckles and Eliastriker, and the shadows of the remaining Great Freedom Fighters' Gizoid brigade.

The eighteen-legger truck rumbled to a stop just in front of Knuckles and O'Donnell, spinning ninety degrees on the spot so that the driver - Lupe - could see Knuckles and at the same time make it easier for the echidna to...

"Hop on board, Knuckles!" called out Lupe.

"I... I thought these were destroyed!" Looking closer, Knuckles saw that King Knuckles's right hand had been replaced with a red Spiral Cannon.

"Some government officials," explained Lupe, "Took these to our place and told us to scrap them. So I took them in... And kept them in peak condition!"

Knuckles gave a thumbs-up. "That's Lupe for you! I owe you one!"

And within moments, the Great Freedom Fighters' Gizoid pilots were called on their phones by Knuckles and Marine, and within ten minutes, the Great Freedom Fighters' Gizoid brigade was reborn.

(Eliastriker was temporarily piloted by Ari.)

Knuckles, who had not been inside his King Knuckles in a very long time, felt all the knowledge of how to pilot a Gizoid flooding back into his fingertips.

He looked up at the dark cratered mass overhead which now took up half of the Sonic City sky.

_A ceiling, huh?_ he thought. _I guess it is. All that's left to do... is _punch_ through it!_

And with that, the Gizoid brigade took off in one specific direction.

Now, they just needed their leader.

The Digger.

And _he_ needed his Drill.

_The Blue monday e"r"ectrical parade_

Large swathes of Sonic City districts now long confirmed to be empty rotated aside, exposing the Blue Typhoon as it fired its thrusters, incinerating every level below Level EE (including Black Doom, who had remained undiscovered for seven years), as the Star Gizoid emerged over the city, a large shadow under the Moon's greater shadow.

It extended out small escalators to accept last-minute Möbian refugees.

Zoah opened fire.

A spiraling green shield absorbed the blasts.

Silver smiled. "Alright! Now bring aboard as many refugees as you can while the shield is up!"

"Commander! Look at this!" said Helen, clicking on her keyboard.

The main monitor lit up with unexpected images.

King Knuckles performing a Titanium Head Driver through a Zoah, then plowing straight off camera.

Eliastriker blasting straight through a Zoah's AT Field.

Vector Prime sending sound waves at a Zoah, causing it to destabilize and explode.

Mighty Fists picking off Zoah with its twin pistols.

Espionaj weaving in and out of Zoah, picking them off one by one.

Double Bruiser punching straight through Zoah after Zoah.

"Impossible!" Ash gasped. "What are Gizoids doing out there?"

"Attacks from antiquated Gizoids are _effective_ against them?" Silver said in disbelief.

"Gizoids were once weapons designed to fight the Anti-Spiral," said the Darkoak Head. "It is only natural that their attacks would be effective."

Silver knitted his brow. "Forget about them. Activating the Blue Typhoon is top priority." He addressed the whole bridge, simultaneously activating a channel to all Fremerald units. "Attention, all units! The Blue Typhoon will leave the stratosphere in thirty minutes! Bring on board as many evacuees as you can in that time!"

"Thirty minutes?" Ash breathed.

"In order to leave the stratosphere," the Darkoak Head said, "Thirty minutes is the maximum amount of time we may divert energy to the Spiral Shield."

Blaze went pale, not wanting to imagine the answer to the question she asked:

"And... what of the people... who _can't_ make it?"

Silver cast a horrified look at Blaze, sweat teaming down his face. Thoughts ran through his head of remaining in place to take on board all the people of Sonic City, but... that would endanger everything that Silver had done to save everyone that had made it aboard the Blue Typhoon.

He resolved that they would survive by any means necessary.

Even if it meant crawling back to prosperity over the backs of their murdered friends and family.

His face was suddenly set with determination.

"We leave in thirty minutes. That's it. My decision is made."

"Oh, _now_ I get it," said a gruff voice from the bridge door.

Knuckles.

"So that's your hard decision, huh? Save as many lives as you _can_." Knuckles strode up to Silver and got up in his face. "Nothing can shake your resolve."

"What are you getting at?"

Knuckles grinned in spite of the situation, and the grin infuriated Silver for some reason, "That a pretty leaderly thing for the leader of the New Government to do. Pretty good for someone as young as you. But, if that's the way things'll be, why don't you just give _that_ to me?"

Knuckles held out a large hand.

Both he and the former Galahad villager knew what he was talking about.

"Me and the boys never fit in with this whole 'New Government' thing," Knuckles continued, "We're just the Freedom Fighters. But, you know, the Freedom Fighters have their own way of doing things."

And Silver realized why Knuckles's grin made him so angry: it was _Sonic's_ grin he was wearing. The grin of a senseless man who just charged into battle recklessly and did what he wanted, no matter what effect it would have on the battle, and yet somehow would wind up victorious.

But, Silver knew, that could only take you so far. And it didn't help Sonic on _that day_.

"Don't you understand?" Silver said hotly. "It's impossible!"

"That's what I was getting to! We kick common sense out and go _beyond_ the impossible!" Knuckles stuck his hand out further. "C'mon, give it here. It's the soul of the Great Freedom Fighters... of _Tails_."

Blaze stood up to come to Silver's aid...

And Elias & Meg strode in, Meg carrying Alexis. Blaze faltered.

Elias gave Blaze a shake of the head. _Let them handle this_, it said.

Meg was not looking at Blaze, but was giving the Zoah circling the Spiral Shield a hard, blazing glare.

After a long moment, Silver reached around his neck and unfastened a clasp, pulling out a bit of gritty brown string made from the fur of Knothole Village pig-moles, attached to a small drill made from emerald.

Tails's Core Drill.

He placed it in Knuckles's hand, "Once upon a time, _I_ entrusted the future to this, too."

Knuckles clenched his fist, "Well, I'm gonna wager _tomorrow _on this baby."

Knuckles looked at Blaze.

Blaze looked at Knuckles.

"Knuckles..." she began.

"Please don't die," he said shortly, turning away.

"Sorry," Elias said softly to Knuckles.

Knuckles just grinned. "Leave this to me!"

He left.

Silver returned to his station, a certain élan about him lost now. "All hands, prepare for liftoff. We don't have much time!"

_放棄_

"GET OUTTA MY WAY!" King Knuckles shouted in its pilot's voice as it plowed straight through a Zoah.

And then Eliastriker flew by below.

No.

Wait.

Eliastriker wasn't _purple_.

Far below, the last of the Fremeralds had docked with the Blue Typhoon, carrying as many people as they could between their arms.

The Blue Typhoon's escalators retracted, leaving thousands stranded in Sonic City.

Cries rang out, all filled with the same tone of black panic:

"NO!"

"Don't leave!"

"_LET US ON!_"

"MOMMY!"

Within the bridge, Silver stood as steadily as he could at his station, but he could not hide the tears that he now shed for those he had to leave behind.

Nor could Blaze, who could hardly see what she was typing as she coordinated the coordinates for Blue Typhoon's star trek.

_サリーを返します_

Far below, in Marble Prison, Shadow looked up from his hunched position in solitary, at the fox boy across from him.

"Looks like we were left behind," he said.

"Yeah," he didn't even look up at Shadow, staring at his hands in their wooden shackles, identical to those around Shadow's wrists. He seemed oblivious to the distant rumble of the Blue Typhoon taking off.

"To think that _this_ is how I'm going to watch you die," Shadow sneered at Tails.

"You don't have to. Escape from here, Shadow," said the fox boy, unclenching his fist. "You're strong enough to break out, I know it."

"Still, I find it remarkable that they left behind _you_, of all people," Shadow said, looking down at Tails's open hand.

He gasped.

A _drill_...?

Of _green light_...?

Just like...

Just like the Helix King, on the day he made Shadow immortal!

"That light...!" Shadow exclaimed.

But the fox boy clenched his fist and unclenched it, and only particles of green light were left.

Tails smiled.

"I don't need to do anything anymore," he said, looking up at Shadow and meeting him eye-to-eye. "It's all up to Silver now."

Tails and Shadow blinked at the exact same moment.

And Cosmo was standing there, facing Tails.

"Are you so sure about that?" she said in her lifeless robotic voice.

Because of her jet-black appearance as a Messenger, all Tails could see of Cosmo were the data lines running down her body, hair, and flowers, and the cold blue light of her apathetic eyes.

"C-Cosmo..." Tails gasped.

"Silver has turned his back on all Möbiankind," she said, raising her left hand, her engagement ring glinting in the faint light. A round screen appeared over her hand, showing a computer-generated sphere covered with a blue grid, being orbited by a smaller sphere with a white grid across it. The smaller sphere orbited for a few moments, then spiraled in and smashed the blue grid off the larger sphere, leaving one that was burning-yellow.

"When the Moon strikes, they shall be swallowed, shelters and all, into Möbius's crust and mantle, and they shall all die. And the same fate awaits them in space. Escaping into space is a futile effort. Silver's plans were well within our assumptions. It is impossible for Möbiankind to evade destruction."

"What?" Shadow growled, his hands against his bars.

"The only concept which awaits Spiral life above the surface is absolute despair," Cosmo continued as her pupils, invisible against the blue glow of her eyes, gleamed red as blood. An orb of blood-red energy appeared in her right hand. "Only that awaits them."

Tails looked at the orb in Cosmo's hand without fear. "So, you're gonna kill me, Cosmo? After all we've done together?"

"My past self is gone, Miles. Your pleas fall on the unsympathetic ears of a mere program," Cosmo said, the orb glowing still more brightly, her pupils like red stars now. "Your death shall mark the conclusion of the Möbiankind Annihilation System."

She fired.

There was a sound of tearing metal, and a scream of pain.

"Shadow!" Tails yelled.

Shadow had torn his bars open and taken the blast for Tails. Tails could see through the ashen hole in Shadow's chest. It took much longer to heal than when his throat was slit by that Black Arms bird girl.

"Don't worry about me," Shadow hissed through gritted teeth. "My immortal body from the Helix King won't—"

Cosmo heartlessly blasted him twice more.

"Don't underestimate me!" Shadow growled even before the scorched bones of his lower jaw had been covered up again by muscle and skin. "Compared to the beatings General Redpine dealt me, this is _nothing_!" Shadow charged her, but Cosmo backhanded him with her ball of red energy, searing through skin and bone and flipping him into the bars behind her.

"Stop, Cosmo!" Tails snapped. "Your target is _me_!"

Cosmo faced him again, mechanically returning to her original position of targeting Tails.

Tails gave Cosmo a determined glare, his right hand glowing with emerald light, as though every cell in his right hand had turned into a green star, "I have to thank you, Cosmo. I was scared. When they tore down Sonic's statue, the rage inside me broke loose. I almost _killed _innocent people. Just like I was before I met you, just after Sonic died. I felt an unknown power rising up inside me. Just like with your father, Lucus Darkoak! But, I managed to restrain that power, and if I have to die so that Möbiankind can live, that's fine.

"Or so I thought. But, you said it yourself, Cosmo. You told me that there are some things I still have to do! Some things only _I_ can do! So, attack me, Cosmo! But I won't die! As long as Möbiankind needs to be saved, I will _never_ die!"

"You fool," Cosmo said, the orb of light in her hand reaching the critical point, the pinpricks of bloody light in her pupils like laser pointers, centered on Tails's heart.

Bang. A flash of blue light near the ceiling.

The orb of light in Cosmo's hand burst apart like glass, dissipating like mist.

And then, with a great shake that made Tails's teeth rattle, the ceiling broke.

And something fell into Marble Prison's solitary confinement sector. Fortunately, no one was about, apart from Tails, Shadow, and the Anti-Spiral Messenger Cosmo.

With a crash, and the kicking up of clouds of loose dirt, the Something landed.

When it cleared - which took a minute or so - it revealed something that made Tails and Shadow gape.

It was a purple Gizoid, resembling an engine with a face, with stumpy arms and legs...and a cannon on its head, which was pointed at Cosmo.

Its mouth opened.

A lithe shape carrying a large rifle leapt down, landing twenty feet from Cosmo, pointing her weapon at the Anti-Spiral Messenger.

It was a woman, of mixed chipmunk and squirrel heritage, judging from her looks. She had her red hair tied into a ponytail. She was wearing a blue vest over a flame-decal bra, in addition to black short-shorts and blue boots.

"I don't see you for a while, and you go and turn into a cold, boring bitch..." A smirk crossed Sally's face. "Cosmo."

**つづく  
To be continued...**

**

* * *

**

次回予告  
Next Episode Preview

What that man loved was a future beneath a bright blue sky.

And when that sky begins to fall, she rises up.

And then their intertwined fates merge and become one.

Next time on _Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl_: _**"You Are Someone Who Ought To Survive"**_.


	27. Chapter 26

_(Chapter Twenty-six. My summer job kept me away from writing for a little longer than I'd intended. But I'm back, even if writing this was slower than I would have liked.)_

* * *

"This is the tale of a man who continues to search for his own path, even when betrayed by his destiny.

"Tails is thrown into prison as a war criminal.

"What he finds waiting for him there is a former enemy: Shadow.

"Elsewhere, Silver is informed that the Moon's impact will deal a fatal blow to Möbius.

"Amidst the battle, the Blue Typhoon abandons a great many people as it lifts off.

"But Cosmo, who has become the Anti-Spiral Messenger program, is prevented in her bid to kill Tails by the shocking return of Sally.

"What is her story for these past six years?"

_ｿﾞｰｱ__がいっぱい_

"How many were we able to bring aboard?" Silver asked, as steadily as he could.

Blaze brought up a number on her console. "We have confirmation of approximately 530,400 people."

Silver's heart sank. "Less than half of what we'd planned..."

Then every alarm on the Blue Typhoon went off at once.

"Enemies detected!" Helen called out from her terminal. "Two Zoah! _Huge_ ones! And thousands of smaller ones!"

Silver went white. Both of the Zoah behemoths, larger than the Blue Typhoon itself by far, came into view. One had two large horns instead of a head, and the other a flat, pyramid-like head. They had black rings revolving around opposing shoulders.

"This was a trap all along...?" Silver gasped.

**CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX:  
You Are Someone Who Ought To Survive**

**一****年前  
One year earlier**

On South Island...

"C'mon, give it back!" cried the little red echidna, tears on his face red with anger.

"If you don't like it, _take_ it back!" sneered Rutan, who was taller than Knecapeon "Kneecaps" Mace, and therefore assumed that the little echidna was weak. He was currently holding Mace's raggedy old duffel bag just out of his reach, lifting it up whenever he made a leap for it.

"Oop!" Rutan tossed the bag into the air and caught it, for Kneecaps had made a particularly high jump. "You're too slow, Kneecaps!" he said in an obnoxious sing-song tone.

Kneecaps fell to his knees, sobbing.

Then the school bell began to ring, and Rutan bolted, dropping the duffel bag in the process as he yelled, "Wahh, I'm late, I'm late!"

A girl echidna Kneecaps's age walked up to him from behind, sighing.

"You're hopeless, you know that, Mace?" She held out a hand. "Here, let me help you up."

"Thanks, Demi-Na," he said, but before he'd even lifted a hand from the ground...

"Wait."

Both children turned to the voice.

There was a woman in her mid-twenties, part chipmunk and part squirrel by her looks. She had long red hair and glasses, and wore a conservative blue dress suit. Beside her sat a yellow levi-cycle.

"You can get up on your own, right?" she said kindly.

Tentatively, Kneecaps pulled himself up. The lady smiled and patted him on the head.

"That's better... _big guy_," she said with a gentle smile, before climbing back onto her levi-cycle and gliding past to the school building.

To Demi-Na's dismay - and jealousy? - Kneecaps had not taken his eyes off her the whole time.

Minutes later, they and their fellow students stood outside the school building, facing their old teacher, Hawking The Echidna, in his wheelchair. The lady from before stood beside him.

"Children, I'd like to introduce your new teacher to you," said Hawking softly.

"She's a real babe!" Rutan whispered to Demi-Na. "I heard she's from the mainland!"

"Oh come on!" Demi-Na hissed back. "She isn't even that good-looking!"

Beside her, Kneecaps was starstruck.

"She's our teacher..." he said, as though Christmas had come early.

"My name is Alicia," said the new teacher, her arms and smile wide. "I hope that we all become good friends."

_熱砂の荒野を抜けて大グレン団が行くのだ_

After the children left for the day, Hawking showed Alicia to her quarters, which were once his when he was teacher. It was a humble cabin next to the schoolhouse.

"I'm sorry about all the clutter," he said, moving a cowboy hat from off a small clock. "It used to be the night guard house, but it's still livable at least."

Alicia swept the room swiftly but thoroughly, and smiled at the elderly echidna as she opened her suitcase.

"Thank you for everything," she said.

Hawking returned the smile feebly, turning his cowboy hat over and over in his hands.

"We call this a school, but I'm the only staffer. Some new blood is a godsend."

"I see."

Hawking squinted. "Still, I can't see why someone as famous as you would come out here to South Island."

Alicia looked away, pulling open the window.

"Are you sure you don't have me mistaken for somebody else?" Alicia said, slightly stiffly. "I'm just Alicia, a new schoolteacher."

Hawking waved a hand apologetically. "Oh, pardon a two-hundred-year-old echidna. We old people tend to blurt things out."

The cries of farewell from the last few straggling students reached Alicia's window, and she waved tenderly after them.

A gentle, almost motherly smile graced her lips.

"Those children are the first to be born on the surface," she said. "I want to make sure that someone is there to watch over them."

Hawking nodded. "Yes. The sun and sky are still new to me, and I do not want these children to have a life without them."

Hawking rolled out a couple minutes later, and Alicia unloaded her materials from her suitcase. Unwrapping a long parcel which she had brought in discreetly, to avoid suspicion, she uncovered a sniper rifle called Nicole.

For Alicia was really Sally of Acorn Village, and she had taken it upon herself to make sure that these children had happy, carefree lives under the sky. It was her way of ensuring that Sonic's dream of the surface being a paradise for all Möbiankind would always come true every day. For she still loved the idiot hedgehog, even though his soul had departed to the hall of heroes.

For the five years since she'd left the nascent Sonic City, she had moved around from schoolhouse to schoolhouse around Möbius, never teaching the children for more than a year each, before moving on. Every time, she'd left when the children puzzled out her true identity as Sally of Acorn Village. She did not want to draw unwanted attention to herself, especially if their parents believed them. Better to clear out early. Sally did not want her contribution to their growing up in this world on the surface to be tainted by their knowing that she helped to make it possible in a very palpable way.

Sally stuffed Nicole into the back of the closet, along with her extra sets of 'Miss Alicia' clothes.

It was a good thing her middle name was not relevant in the logs of history.

_リゾートライフのイロハ_

Over the months that Sally taught under the alias of Miss Alicia, she had given the children lessons in everything from exercise to singing to mathematics. She made sure to do so with a warm smile the whole time, to endear herself to the children, because children learned best when they were having fun as well.

Within a week, the children all loved their Miss Alicia.

Almost a year after she became the teacher at South Island...

"...until six years ago," Sally recited from her history book, "all Möbiankind lived their entire lives in underground villages, and did not know that the sun or the sky existed. And then, the two who set us all free were Sonic... and Tails."

Sally's eyes flicked down to the photograph of the Great Freedom Fighters, standing before the decapitated Great MetaRex.

There she was. As clear as day. There was no mistaking it.

And if she could see herself in the picture...

"Hey!" Knecapeon hissed to Demi-Na, pointing at his textbook. "It's Miss Alicia!"

Demi-Na narrowed her eyes. "No way, that's not—"

A piece of chalk flew between their heads and left a crack in the wall ten feet behind them. Sweat beaded on their foreheads as they looked at Miss Alicia, tossing another piece of chalk in her free hand.

"No chatting in class," Miss Alicia winked, "Got it?"

A minute later, both Kneecaps and Demi-Na were standing in the hall, each holding a bucket of water.

"How come _I'm_ being punished, too?" Demi-Na muttered, barely heard over the snickers of Rutan and his posse back in the classroom.

The next day...

"Good morning, every—" Kneecaps began, but stopped when he saw Rutan snickering whenever he looked at the board.

Turning, Kneecaps was aghast to see a chalk drawing of him and Demi-Na inside a heart.

"Ignore it," Demi-Na said. "If you let them get to you, it'll only make it worse."

Then Kneecaps noticed Miss Alicia walking in, and frantically began to erase the blatant lie from the board, ignoring Miss Alicia's look of polite puzzlement - and Demi-Na's scowl - as he mumbled to himself over and over, "It's a lie... it's a big, fat lie."

That afternoon, as they were preparing to leave, Kneecaps was horrified to find that his duffel bag was missing. He overturned everything in the classroom looking for it, then ran outside.

And he found it.

Someone had put it at the top of the tree.

"My bag! Who put it up _there_?" he squealed.

"Oh, c'mon, it's just a stupid bag!" Rutan scoffed. "Get another one!"

Kneecaps faced Rutan, tears streaming from his eyes. "But... that bag belonged to my dead mom. It's all I have to remember her by!"

Demi-Na, who was nearby, let out a soft gasp.

Kneecaps grabbed Rutan by the front of his shirt.

Rutan was glaring at Kneecaps, but there was a little bit of uncertainty as well. "Go get it yourself!"

"No, Mace!" Demi-Na said hastily. "I'll get it for—"

"Fine!" snapped Kneecaps, throwing Rutan to the ground. "I'll go get it myself!"

And, with the entire class watching in rapt terror, Kneecaps began to climb the tree.

Miss Alicia and Hawking were in the teacher's office when Demi-Na ran in.

"Demi-Na?" Miss Alicia said.

"Is something wrong?" asked Hawking.

"Miss Alicia! Mister Hawking! Mace is..."

A minute later, the two teachers were watching as well.

"Knecapeon!" Miss Alicia called out.

"Don't shout," Hawking said lowly. "If he loses his concentration..."

"What's he doing, climbing a tree like that?" Miss Alicia asked. "It's getting dark out."

"That bag is a memento from his mother, Lara-Le," Hawking explained. "She was from Gawain Village on the mainland, but it was destroyed by a horrendous Gizoid of the Helix King's army. She lost her son, Knukalxamac, in the hell that ensued. Fleeing to this island, which was safe from the Helix Empire, she took up with a native man named Wynmacher, but died of illness when Knecapeon was still an infant. Wynmacher himself was killed by a Black Arms three years ago, and young master Mace had to make his way on his own since. I'm afraid that he has never really fit in after all this time."

At that moment, the branch under Kneecaps's right foot gave way, and his grip nearly slipped - Miss Alicia and Hawking and most of the class gasped, but Demi-Na shrieked - but Kneecaps grasped tightly at a thick branch and continued to climb.

A sigh of relief swept the class.

After another minute or so, Kneecaps had reached the topmost branch of the tree, grabbing it off and smiling.

"Got it!"

Then he looked down.

Everyone was like ants at this height.

Kneecaps screamed.

"Don't look down!" shouted Miss Alicia, and Demi-Na had never heard her sounding so forceful before.

Miss Alicia tore the lower half of her dress off, revealing lean, toned legs.

She leapt to the tree, climbing it much faster than Kneecaps did.

Gasps of shock ran like a wave through the crowd of kids.

In no time at all, Miss Alicia was sitting beside Kneecaps on a large branch.

"Miss Alicia..."

"That was crazy, wasn't it?" she smiled at him, putting a hand on his head.

"I know," he hugged the duffel bag closer to his chest, "But Mommy gave me this."

He looked out from the tree, across the waters surrounding the island, the sun setting on his and Miss Alicia's left, the Moon on their right, illuminating the distant silhouette of the Parliament Complex of Sonic City.

"I hate this island," said Kneecaps, "because Mommy isn't here anymore."

Looking down at the young Echidna, Sally saw that his eyes were sparkling with the light from the ocean.

"But... I _do_ think this view is really pretty."

Sally nodded in agreement.

"I saw a view like this once before," she told him. And it was true: when Tails and Sonic had first come to the surface, when Emerl had thrown itself into the clouds in its great burst of Spiral Power. "I was with a boy who was a lot like you."

"Like me?"

"Mm-hmm. And I also made a _lot_ of new friends. We did all kinds of things, working together to create a better tomorrow." Sally looked down at her hands, folded on her lap. "There were some people who died, though."

Kneecaps looked uneasy.

"I think," Sally said softly, "you should hold your mother's memories deep in your heart. Remember her as best as you can."

Cries from below along the general lines of _Kneecaps! You okay up there?_ echoed up from the student body.

"Do you hate the people here?" Sally asked.

Kneecaps smiled, shaking his head.

A couple minutes later, Miss Alicia descended the tree, Kneecaps holding on to her shoulders. As soon as she set him down, Rutan and his posse began to mob Kneecaps.

"That was _awesome_, man!" Rutan said. "You climbed that huge tree all by yourself! We've gotta call you _Mace_ now! Mace The Tree-Climber!"

_Mace The Tree-Climber!_ cheered the rest of the class.

Except Demi-Na.

She hung her head in shame.

Mace didn't notice. "Th-thank you," he said lowly.

_メビウス人殲滅システム_

That night, Sally kicked back on her chair, looking over the test papers from that day, pushing the glasses up her nose.

Then her television turned on.

It showed an image of a green-haired woman Sally knew, but with glowing red lines cutting through her skin, a cold-blue fire in her eyes, being projected in front of the Moon.

And she spoke with a cold, robotic voice.

"Hear me, Möbius. We, the race now known only as the Anti-Spiral, have determined that Möbiankind, in achieving capacity for breaching the atmosphere, has reached Spiral Power Danger Level II. We hereby activate the Möbiankind Annihilation System."

Moments later, before Sally had fully processed this information, the television screen shut off.

The tests forgotten, Sally tuned her television into the nearest news channel, to find out what in the world that was about.

An hour or so later, a Breaking News bulletin appeared, regarding an incoming video from their mobile unit. The ensuing video showed Cosmo, atop the Great MetaRex Memorial Complex, and Tails, at its base, cutting back and forth between the two.

"...seven years since you came to the surface," Cosmo said robotically. "Look at how far Möbian civilization has come in that short span of time." Cosmo spread her arms wide, as though indicating a broad change. "Do you not find the speed somewhat suspicious? That is the potential of a Spiral race. Having achieved capacity for sending machinery into orbit, Möbian civilization will advance explosively. They will become a power that will threaten our own. Ergo, we will destroy you before that can happen."

"That's what the Möbiankind Annihilation System is?" Tails shouted, looking angry. "That mecha earlier?"

And one minute after that, Sally's world crashed around her with Cosmo's heartless message:

"In three weeks' time, the Moon will leave its orbit, and impact Möbius. And that will be the end of it."

A week later...

The television was wheeled into the classroom, and the emergency broadcast was shown to the students and Sally. Silver had his hands folded on a desk.

"My fellow Möbians. I am New Supreme Commander Silver, and I bear ill tidings... and words of hope. The surface will be severely damaged by an attack involving dropping the Moon, carried out by unknown enemies calling themselves the Anti-Spiral. In response, the New Government pressed charges against ex-Supreme Commander Miles 'Tails' Prower. As a result of his trial today, he was sentenced to death." He paused to let the words sink in.

"Miss Alicia!" squeaked Demi-Na, clutching at Sally's dress.

She laid a counseling hand on the girl's head.

"Don't worry," she said, "Let's put our faith in the New Government."

Silver continued dispassionately, "...will carry out a large-scale evacuation plan. Citizens will be evacuated to 91 giant underground shelters around the world. Residents in the Sonic City area, which has no shelter, will temporarily leave the stratosphere..."

"What the _hell_ are you people _doing_?" Sally muttered to herself.

The next week, a week before lunar impact...

"Listen, everyone!" said Hawking as loudly as he could. "A Gizoid-boat will be here shortly to transport us to the mainland, where will we then proceed to our underground shelter. We will stay in there until the Moon's impact has ceased having any effect on Möbius, so make sure you didn't forget anything."

Suddenly, Demi-Na burst into tears.

"Demi-Na!" Mace shouted, reaching out to her.

"Don't touch me! I'm a big, fat liar!" she cried. "_I _was the one who put your bag up there, Mace! I thought, I'm a really good tree-climber, and I thought if I put your bag up in the tree and blamed Rutan and his friends for it and then went and got it for you..."

"Demi-Na..."

"I didn't know that bag was from your mom, Mace," Demi-Na was almost unintelligible in her grief, "I didn't know how much it meant to you. I can't go with you guys! Mace, I'm sorry...!"

But Mace took her hand anyway, and smiled.

"Let's all run away together, Demi-Na!" he said brightly.

Rutan and his gang cheered.

Demi-Na's tears slowed. "Mace..."

_Ring-ring-ring..._

Sally looked down at her pocket.

"My phone...? I have a message...?"

Seeing that it was from Silver, Sally excused herself - which she had been meaning to do anyway; she was sure that her presence was needed back in Sonic City - and retreated back to her shed, her home of the last year.

Silver's message was prerecorded, and he looked and sounded quite anxious.

"Sally, I'd like you to come to Sonic City as soon as you hear this message. Please come aboard the Blue Typhoon. The Moon will destroy the surface when it lands. You are someone who ought to survive!

"Please, contact me immediately!"

Those last four words repeated in an endless loop, even as Sally pulled out her rifle Nicole from the closet, pulled off the dust cover, and set it beside the levi-cycle which she had brought inside as well.

Then she tore off her Miss Alicia outfit, revealing a flame-decal bra and blue panties.

Sally pulled on her blue vest and black short-shorts, pulling her long hair into a ponytail.

She removed her glasses.

Miss Alicia was absent today.

Sally of Acorn Village would fill in for now.

"So..." she asked Silver's endlessly repeating plea, "_this _is what you call 'government', Silver? Give me a break!"

From the outside, it happened suddenly.

Miss Alicia's yellow levi-cycle blasted out of her roof. And Miss Alicia rode astride it. She had a very familiar rifle in her hands, and was wearing a very familiar vest, flame-decal bra, short-shorts, and boots...

Mace pulled out his textbook.

"I knew it!" he said in awe, pointing out Sally of the Great Freedom Fighters. "She's the same as in our textbook!"

The levi-cycle touched down, pointing at Sonic City at the edge of the horizon.

And the students crowded around it.

"Miss Alicia!"

"Sensei!"

"Are you really leaving us, Miss Alicia?"

"I knew it, you really _were_ Sally, Miss Alicia!" Mace said, tears in his eyes. She was like a mother to him, and now she was leaving. It was like losing his mommy all over again.

Sally leaned down, shaking her head. "That's not true. I will always be your teacher, Miss Alicia."

The children cheered.

"That's right! You're South Island's Miss Alicia!"

"Alicia-sensei!'

"Miss Alicia!"

Sally looked up at the dark circle which now took up most of the sky.

"I'll get it back for you, kids," she said seriously. "That blue sky that you children love so much. That my Sonic died for."

The children crowded more tightly around Sally, almost cutting her off from her levi-cycle.

She smiled her Alicia smile again. "When I get back, I'll hand out your report cards, okay?"

She pulled out a small remote-control device from a vest pocket, and clicked it.

Low footsteps rumbled in the distance.

Demi-Na clutched Mace like he was a life-preserver. "I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid..." she squeaked frantically.

In moments, a large silhouetted shape appeared over them. It could have demolished the schoolhouse if its owner pleased.

But Acorn Cannon was a tame Gizoid, and the children recognized it from their history textbooks.

"Waha..." mumbled Mace, in awe.

Mounting her levi-cycle, Sally rode it into the Acorn Cannon's open mouth, securing it under the Acorn Cannon's control seat, took the butterfly controls, and set it to Fly.

Acorn Cannon lifted up from the island and blasted off to Sonic City, the children running along behind it.

"Bye-bye, Miss Alicia!"

"We'll be waiting for you!" Mace called out, "That's a promise!"

Acorn Cannon gave a thumbs-up, and blasted off, leaving a wave behind.

As Sally approached Sonic City, it became very clear that something was very wrong.

Smoke was pouring out of half of its skyscrapers, and the entirety of the Parliament Complex was collapsing upon itself. Those Zoah that she had heard about in the news were buzzing about still, but were reduced to a few dozen by now.

A large needle-like starship, many times larger than the Parliament Complex was, was rising up from a hatch which had opened up, moving half the city aside.

_So that's the Blue Typhoon_, she thought.

As she flew past it, a familiar red Gizoid flew overhead, shouting out, "GET OUTTA MY WAY!" as it plowed through a Zoah.

Hesitating for only a moment, Sally hailed the King Knuckles.

"Working hard as usual, Knuckles?"

Knuckles looked completely dumbfounded.

"S-Sally? Is that you?"

With no time for preamble, Sally asked, "So, where's Tails?"

"In the Marble Prison, down under the outskirts. He's in solitary—"

Acorn Cannon blasted off, with Sally's last words to Knuckles being, "Then I'll leave our new 'friends' here to you!"

"Hey, get back here!" Knuckles called out to here, even as she moved out of transmission range. "Bitch! You come in from outta nowhere after six years, and take the rescue for yourself?"

The Acorn Cannon found a small but ominous building, just large enough for the elevator that took the incarcerated down to the holding cells below. For Sally's part, it wasn't too difficult to blast her way down into Marble Prison. It was made easier for the fact that the solitary confinement was one of the highest levels of the prison that made Sally feel easier about blasting her way down the elevator shaft.

Slinking the Acorn Cannon through the rafters over the solitary cells, Sally spotted several red flashes.

It was the Anti-Spiral Messenger, once known as Cosmo, assaulting Shadow.

Sally opened Acorn Cannon's mouth, propping Nicole on its lower jaw, as Cosmo turned her red orb of killing energy on Tails. Tails seemed to be back in his 'saving-people' mood. Cosmo's orb of red death glowed still more brightly.

Sally fired, shattering Cosmo's energy ball.

Any necessity of stealth abandoned, Sally took Acorn Cannon's controls, and smashed through lower ceiling over Tails's cell, sending rubble and dust flying down.

By sheer luck, Acorn Cannon's cannon was pointed at Cosmo.

Sally leapt down from her Gizoid's open mouth, and pointed Nicole at the Messenger.

"I don't see you for a while, and you go and turn into a cold, boring bitch..." A smirk crossed her face. "Cosmo."

Cosmo stared back coolly.

"You should know better than anyone that _no one_ can stop Tails. Not when he's like this," Sally said.

"I have no further use for my memories of the past," Cosmo replied. "I am the Messenger program of the Anti-Spiral."

And glowing boxes engulfed Cosmo's form - Sally gasped - and even as Tails angrily shouted, "Wait! _Come back!_", Cosmo was gone.

Wasting no time, Sally broke open the lock on Tails's cell, smashed his wooden shackles, and stood over the leader of the Great Freedom Fighters.

"So, what?" she asked, smirking. "You were just gonna sit quietly and rot away in here?"

Tails, kneading his wrists, smirked back, "Yeah, that was the plan... Until Cosmo told me that there were still things I needed to do. So, Sal, where've you been all this time?"

"It's a long story, and it can wait," Sally said airily. "But, I got a message from Silver. The surface is gonna be destroyed by the Moon's impact. The underground will be destroyed, too. There's nowhere to run."

"And it sounds like there's an ambush waiting in outer space, too. Our back's against the wall," Tails said, and even as he finished his sentence, the sound of the Blue Typhoon departing Möbius's stratosphere echoed down to them.

Sally nodded at Tails, "But, when it comes to no-win situations like this..."

"Yeah!" Tails ripped off his prison uniform, his New Government undergarments exposed. "It's something the Great Freedom Fighters specialize in!"

A snort came from the corner.

"I see you still have as much spunk as ever, woman," Shadow muttered.

Sally, noticing him for the first time, did a double-take. "_Shadow?_ You... you look _terrible_ with those scars!"

"I'm immortal," Shadow said shortly.

"Sally, your gun?" Tails asked.

Sally handed him her handgun. Tails fired into Shadow's hand and feet shackles, shattering them and blasting holes in his wrists and ankles.

Shadow glowered at Tails even as his wounds sealed up again. "_What_ are you up to?"

Tails stood over the immortal Black Arms.

"You heard the lady," Tails said. "The Great Freedom Fighters are gonna save every living thing on Möbius."

"And tell me, fox boy... How exactly do you plan on doing that?"

"Simple. We stop the Moon."

Shadow narrowed his eyes to slits.

"Are you serious?"

"You of all people should know I'm _always_ serious."

Tails grinned.

"Who the hell do you think I am?"

Shadow stood up, towering over Tails.

"I _know_ exactly who you are. You're the fool fox boy leader of the Great Freedom Fighters."

After a hasty agreement to save their bickering for another time, Tails and Shadow clambered into Acorn Cannon and hung on as Sally guided it back out of the prison.

As soon as Tails set foot down on the grass outside, he saw a glint of green flying towards him.

He caught it.

Opening his hand, it was his _Core Drill_!

"Your debt to society has been repaid!" said Knuckles, who had tossed it to Tails.

Tails was stunned.

Everyone of the Gizoid pilots, and their Gizoids - apart from Marine and Super Marine, and Elias - were present. Ari stood in front of Eliastriker.

"Guys...?"

Behind Tails, Shadow scowled. "So many familiar and friendly faces..."

Big scratched his head, "Hey, that's..."

Bark barked, "What's _he_ doing here?"

"Right now," Tails said, "We need every good Gizoid pilot we can get."

"Need I remind you, fox boy," Shadow said, "That the entire line of ARK Gizoids have been scrapped? Most of them either by you or the blue hedgehog."

If Tails heard this, he didn't show it.

"So, we're gonna do it?" Knuckles asked.

"Yeah," Tails said, looking up at the Moon. "Unless we stop that thing, Möbius _has_ no future."

"So you know 'bout that? That saves a lot of time," Knuckles then turned to the Great Freedom Fighters. "_You hear that, you bozos? We're gonna smash that big fucking ceiling up there!_"

A moment of silence...

And the Great Freedom Fighters cheered.

"_Chaooo~o!_"

Kukku threw himself at Tails's chest, his ball a heart.

"Kukku, you're alright!" Tails beamed.

"Looks like the gang's all here," Sally said.

Kukku turned to Sally, his ball turning into a '**!**'...

And he stuffed himself into Sally's cleavage.

"Boy, Kukku, you're still as tiny as ever," she said.

Knuckles's eyebrow twitched.

_ＢａｆＢａｆ__！そんなに燃えるのが…好きかい？_

"This is Rotor's going-away present," smiled Lupe, indicating Freedom Emerl. "He pulled some strings and kept it from being scrapped. He's taken the liberty of boosting its levi-pack output as well. Once you're all set, I'll launch you guys into space on that spare Moon Probe Gizoid rocket."

"Lunch?" Big asked.

Shadow looked up at Freedom Emerl with something resembling admiration.

"Still the same brazen look as ever, I see," he growled. "You're persistent, fox boy. You _and_ this Gizoid."

"Care to pilot it, Shadow?" Tails asked.

Shadow's carefully maintained expression of cool apathy fell apart in an instant, his eyes popping.

"What...?"

"Lucus gave you that immortal body to observe the fate of Möbius, right? Well, there's a box seat with your name on it in Freedom's cockpit."

"Freedom Emerl, huh? Even after all the humiliation I have suffered at its hands..." Shadow looked down at his hands, which were trembling in anticipation. "My body is telling me what it wants." He gave Tails a rare smirk. "You're on, fox boy."

"Be careful with her, Shadow," Tails smirked back, "She packs a real punch."

"I know that better than anyone," Shadow replied.

Acorn Cannon stomped up.

"So, are you guys gonna get in Freedom Emerl, or what? We're kind of in a hurry here," Sally asked crossly.

Minutes later, the Moon Probe Gizoid took off, Freedom Emerl flying along side it as it blasted beyond the city's tallest remaining skyscrapers.

The booster rockets disengaged.

"It's falling apart!" shouted Double Bruiser in Big's panicked voice.

"Don't worry!" Lupe broadcast up from her station back on the surface. "Your Gizoids' flying configurations were apparently designed for atmospheric re-entry."

"'Atmosphere'?" Big asked. "Is that a kind of tasty fish?"

Lupe sighed, "Look, it means that your Gizoids can fight in outer space."

"Oh, okay!" Big said.

"We'll do that!" Vector called out.

As the remaining Gizoid pilots gave their calls of assent, Lupe looked up at the rising plume of smoke and said, "We're counting on you guys..."

Inside Acorn Cannon's cockpit, Sally braced herself against the G-forces, looking out to her right...

And saw South Island in the distance.

Her brows furrowed.

"We'll get it back," she muttered to herself, full of determinacy. "A world where kids can live under the sun without a care in the world. Just like you always wanted... Sonic Hedgehog."

_お前の__ＸＸＸ__で天を衝け！！_

"Damn it!" Charmy swore in his Buzz Buzz. "Even with the Spiral Shield Rifles, we aren't even making a _dent _in these things!"

Cream appeared in his left eye. She looked harried, but determined. "Charmy, calm down! We have to stay focused!"

The battle was _not _going well at all, as evidenced by the flurry of talk going about the Blue Typhoon's bridge.

"Damage?" Silver asked.

"Severe damage to Block 357," Ash replied. "Now closing bulkheads."

"Fremerald Squadron strength down to 53%!" Helen cried out.

Silver growled, "Damn these monsters!"

"The Moon's rate of descent in increasing!" Blaze shouted. "It will not impact in a week's time, but in..." She gasped sharply. "...in just 20 hours!"

"Hold out, no matter what!" Silver yelled to his crew. "If we lose now, everything that we've done will be—"

The Blue Typhoon shook violently.

"What was _that_?" Silver asked the Darkoak Head.

"Spiral Power levels falling," it said. "Spiral lifeform readings are rapidly weakening."

Silver leaned in closer to the Darkoak Head. "They're _what_?"

"The people are worried," Blaze said simply. "They're worried about the battle that's going on outside. No. Not just them. _We're_ worried, too."

Silver was shellshocked.

"It can't be... How could a machine be influenced by a living being's emotions?" Silver felt sapped of willpower, leaning on the Darkoak Head's stand as black despair washed over him. "No... That might be the case... If that's true... then... have I reached the limit?"

Overhead, one of the jumbo Zoah - the one with the pyramid head - raised a glowing blue arm as if to take the Blue Typhoon in its hand, blue lightning bolts crackling between its fingertips...

"_DON'T GIVE UP, SILVER!_"

As Silver looked up in shock, a green bolt of energy struck the giant Zoah's arm, sending the entire digital mecha tumbling backwards, well out of range of the Blue Typhoon.

Silver had recognized that voice.

But it couldn't be...

"It can't be!" he said, bolting over to the nearest window and peering out at the source of the blast of Spiral Energy.

Two spiral-shaped objects were exiting Möbius's atmosphere. One was the spare Moon Probe Gizoid, with the Great Freedom Fighters' Gizoid brigade latched onto the side.

The other was _Freedom Emerl_.

But that meant...

Inside Emerl...

"_Tails?_" Silver shouted in mingled joy and disbelief.

"The instant you give up, it's all over!" said Tails, his image appearing on Blue Typhoon's main monitor. "Don't you remember? This drill..." Freedom Emerl held up its right arm, and the Giga Drill there flashed green. "...is the drill that's gonna pierce the heavens!" Tails addressed a monitor on his side. "Shadow, let's do it to it!"

Shadow's face appeared on the monitor - several people on the bridge cried out in shock. The hedgehog-shaped Black Arms looked testy.

"What? You're giving me orders _already_?"

"It wasn't an order," Tails smiled. "It was a _suggestion_."

Shadow smirked, "In which case, I accept your suggestion!"

Freedom Emerl hovered between the Zoah and the Blue Typhoon.

"The Spiral Path, in which the twin roads of native and alien wind and intersect!" Tails shouted.

"Join with yesterday's enemy to smash fate!" Shadow bellowed. "And grab hold of tomorrow's path with _your own hands_!"

The Great Freedom Fighters' pilots readied themselves for dismount. And battle.

"_DESTINY COMBINING!_" Tails and Shadow yelled. "_FREEDOM EMERL!_"

Freedom Emerl began to glow like an emerald sun.

"_WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM?_" it shouted in Tails and Shadow's voices.

Thousands of Zoah fired at once.

"_No you don't! _**GIGA DRILL...**" Tails yelled.

Giga Drills emerged from every point of Freedom Emerl's body, the hero king Gizoid resembling a metallic sea urchin now.

"**OVERDRIVE!**"

The Anti-Spiral's blasts were absorbed by the Giga Drill Overdrive attack...

And in a flash of green light that could be seen from the surface of Möbius, half of the Zoah disappeared.

**つづく  
To be continued...**

* * *

次回予告  
Next Episode Preview

When Möbiankind is battered into subjugation by absolute despair, it finds a miracle.

And the name of that miracle is Typhoon Freedom Emerl.

Next time on _Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl_: _**"What Have I Been Doing Up To Now?"**_


	28. Chapter 27

_(Chapter Twenty-seven. One thing after another conspire to keep me from writing, huh? Well, better late than never, huh?_

_There's a scene near the end of this that I've been working on since more or less the beginning. It's as good as I can get it. Enjoy!)_

* * *

All about Sonic City, the gravitational effects of the Moon's impending impact made themselves known:

Buildings collapsed under their own weight.

Tsunamis swept the oceans from the lunar forces.

Cracks opened up down the Möbius's mantle, magma bubbling up and sweeping down the empty streets.

In their shelter, Mace and Demi-Na held hands and smiled at each other, Hawking watching over them and the rest of their class.

Lupe held her children, Marcos and Maria, close to her heart.

**CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN:  
What Have I Been Doing Up To Now?**

Charmy's jaw dropped. "Awesome... That Giga Drill Overdrive blast just took out half the Zoah..."

"C'mon, guys!" bellowed Knuckles, his King Knuckles disconnecting from the Moon Probe Gizoid and firing off its levi-sphere, the other Great Freedom Fighter Gizoids blasting off in his wake. "We can't let Tails and Shadow hog all the glory!"

"Yeah!" shouted Sally, Vector, Mighty, Espio, Big, Bark, Lobo, and Ari in agreement.

King Knuckles blasted past the remaining Zoah, weaving in and out in a zigzagging path to the other end of the swarm of Zoah, before its echidna pilot let loose a war cry and fired off blasts of Spiral Power from the cannon where its right hand was.

Acorn Cannon swerved this way and that, firing off Spiral Bombers from its upgraded cannon. Eliastriker followed it back-to-back, so that they covered each other from sneak attacks.

Espionaj activated a newly installed cloaking device that, in the pitch-black of space, made it a lethally unseen foe for the Zoah.

Double Bruiser blasted ruthlessly at the Zoah.

Vector Prime blasted Spiral Power beams from the base of the microphone it held, and from the fingertips of its opposite hand.

O'Donnell fired energy from the missile cannons mounted inside its shoulders.

Mighty Fists picked Zoah off with its twin pistols.

Freedom Emerl pulled off its shades with one hand, and its winged levi-pack with the other...

Tails and Shadow shouted, "**DOUBLE BOOMERANG... SPIRAL!**"

Freedom Emerl hurled both makeshift boomerangs through the cloud of Zoah. Bright orange explosions trailed them as the shades and levi-pack looped out almost to the surface of the Moon. All told, the Double Boomerang Spiral destroyed about a quarter of the small Zoah. And with the half that were destroyed by Giga Drill Overdrive, and the attacks of the Great Freedom Fighters' Gizoid brigade...

"Wow... look at all the Zoah that Mr. Knuckles and the others took out in their first space battle!" Frances commented from her Fremerald.

An orange echidna girl appeared in her eye.

"All the smaller Zoah have been virtually exterminated," said Shade from her Fremerald, Nocturne.

In the living quarters of the Blue Typhoon, Elias was almost tearful with joy.

"Tails... Knuckles... Big! Bark! Lobo!" He wiped his eyes. "I knew it...! You guys made it after all..."

A slender, warm hand rested on his, and Meg gave him a relieved smile.

"Good thing, isn't this?" she said.

Marine was slack-jawed. "Awesome..."

And then Eliastriker and Acorn Cannon wheeled past, blasting at some Zoah stragglers.

"Wha—...? _Sally's back?_ And... that's my Eliastriker! Who the hell's _piloting _it?"

Meg and Marine gave each other befuddled glances...

And laughed. Alexis joined in too.

"Everyone from the Great Freedom Fighters are out there pickin' blues and takin' names, mates!" Marine called out to those refugees who could not see out the window. Murmurs of hope reached her; she could even see a couple smiles breaking out.

Meg patted her daughter's hair tenderly. "See? Even Alexis can tell..."

Outside, Buzz Buzz and Cheese had backed themselves into a corner, a Zoah Carrier on either side...

And a Spiral Shield Bomber each penetrated the Zoah's AT Fields and detonated them.

"Charmy! Cream! Pay attention!" snapped a stern but playful voice.

Charmy and Cream turned...

Eliastriker and Acorn Cannon.

"Eliastriker...? And... _Sally_?" Charmy was stunned.

Sally's face appeared in Charmy and Cream's eyes. She was smiling brightly. "Any more daydreaming out of you two, and you're gonna go stand out in the hall!"

Cheese put a hand to where its mouth would be and giggled in Cream's voice. "You sound just like a school teacher."

"But... who's in Eliastriker?" Charmy asked. "Isn't Mr. Elias in the Blue Typhoon?"

Ari's face appeared next to Sally's. He held Eliastriker's controls. "I'm borrowing this thing from Elias for now. We need as many Gizoid pilots as we can get out there."

"Roger!" Cream said, turning to the battle again.

"Alright! Fremerald Squadron, form up on me and Cream!" Charmy said, regaining his stance as captain. He brought up Buzz Buzz's Spiral Rifle. "Don't let the old-timers show us up!"

"Roger!" said Frances and Shade, flying in behind Charmy and Cream.

_超合体_

Blaze was stunned by one development after the other. First, they had to leave behind more than half the population of Sonic City and the surrounding provinces in order to escape into space. Then, the Zoah appeared, revealing a trap waiting up there for them. Then, the Spiral Power started falling as despair washed over the passengers of the Blue Typhoon. Then, _Freedom Emerl _showed up and single-handedly halved the aggressors' forces, bringing the _Great Freedom Fighters _with it. And, then...

"Spiral Power is recovering!" she called out to the bridge, the spiral-shaped gauge on the main screen beginning to fill in from empty black to energized white.

Blaze may have been stunned, but Silver was absolutely shell-shocked by all the preceding shocks of the day.

Especially by this latest development.

_Is that... because of them?_ Silver thought as he watched the Spiral Power gauge climb. _Is that... the power of _hope_? If it is... then, what have_ I _been doing up to now? What have I been doing all this time?_

He narrowed his brow in determination.

"Direct all energy to the Spiral Shields!" he ordered. "Protect this ship, no matter what!"

"Roger!" Blaze responded.

"Go to..." said the Darkoak Head stiffly. "Go to the Moon... That is... my..." He then trailed off. And repeated his statement in the exact same robotic syntax.

"What...?" Ash said, distracted from his workstation.

"Is he... unlocking new data?" Silver pondered, before shaking his head lightly. "No... In his case, he's recalling old memories."

Then Rotor, who had been following the growth of the Spiral Power gauge since Freedom Emerl arrived on the battlefield, spoke up.

"Well, that looks about good for the you-know-what..." He faced Cobar. "Wouldn't you say so?"

Cobar nodded.

Rotor tuned his microphone to Freedom Emerl.

"Tails! It's time to show off Blue Typhoon's big secret! Bring on the old you-know-what!"

Out in space, Freedom Emerl had just caught its shades and levi-pack and reconnected them, and Tails was feeling the adrenaline rush of battle rather intensely. Any reasonable suspicion that the Anti-Spiral were monitoring their communications did not cross his mind.

"You mean combine with it?" he said without thinking.

At once, a sudden change came over the few remaining Zoah: three or four Zoah Carriers, a dozen regular-sized Zoah, and the two giant Zoah.

Helen blanched. "I'm picking up huge energy readings from the two giant Zoah!"

At once, the pyramid-headed Zoah's energy Cores glowed like blue suns...

And the Zoah blasted itself apart, its fragments flying rapidly at the Blue Typhoon, tearing through whatever Fremerald or regular-sized Zoah that got in the way. Swarming around the Star Meta-Gizoid, the fragments reconstituted with its central Core enclosing the Blue Typhoon, and blue electricity crackled violently across its form.

Several control panels on Blue Typhoon's bridge erupted in sparks and smoke, causing those who operated them to leap back in alarm.

The Darkoak Head sparkled with electricity, groaning in pain, before going limp and slouching against the inside of the glass jar it was in.

"Darkoak!" Silver cried.

Out in space...

"Blue Typhoon!" Tails shouted, turning Freedom Emerl to the starship. "We're coming!"

Then the other giant Zoah - the one with two broad horns - had split in two at the waist and floated above and below Freedom Emerl in the time it took to notice Blue Typhoon's trouble.

"Aww crap!" Tails yelled, just as the jumbo Zoah came back together around Freedom Emerl, assaulting it with cold-blue lightning. Tails and Shadow screamed in pain.

Alexis was bawling inconsolably.

"Don't cry, baby, don't cry," cooed Meg, sounding more confident than she felt. "Everything will be alright, so don't be upset." She cast a short but sharp glare out the window.

Elias addressed the people, who seemed to becoming restless with fear, "Don't panic, everyone! It'll take more than _this _to destroy the Blue Typhoon! My comrades will protect us..."

Alexis's wailing stopped, but tears still spilled down her cheeks as she put a thumb in her mouth.

On the bridge, Silver was beside himself with fear.

"The Blue Typhoon... can't take much more of this...!" he growled.

Tails's face appeared on the main screen.

"Silver! Don't give up!" Tails scolded. "We've _always_ pulled through at the last second! Just like when we stole the Great Freedom! And when we took Greengate! We've always held on and snatched victory at the very last second!"

Silver averted his eyes to the crackling blue lightning outside the bridge.

"Well, it was always like that for _you_, but..."

"Now, now. No need to complain, Silver," said Rotor brightly, typing away at his console.

"Rotor?" Silver asked the walrus. "What are you...?"

"Don't you remember, Silver? The Blue Typhoon is a giant Gizoid, just like Greengate was!"

Inside the Syrax Zoah, Freedom Emerl clenched its fists, green flames bursting around it as Tails let out a war cry.

"_That's right!_ We snatch victory from the jaws of defeat! And that's what we'll keep doing... _AS MANY TIMES AS IT TAKES!_"

The Spiral Power gauge inside Emerl's cockpit went beyond white to green, the computer screens all over the inside of Emerl's cranium going pure green.

Down below in Freedom, the same was happening with Shadow's computer screens. A weary smirk crossed Shadow's face.

"I swear, it's never a dull moment with _you_ around!"

At once, Freedom Emerl's legs fused together, and a Giga Drill emerged over its legs as Tails and Shadow bellowed with fighting spirit. The levi-pack on Freedom Emerl's back spun around, and torrents of Spiral Power blasted from it against the inner wall of the Syrax Zoah's Core.

With a roar of fury from Tails, Shadow, and Kukku, Freedom Emerl burst out of the giant Zoah's containment field, trailing tendrils of blue electricity that dragged the Zoah behind it as Freedom Emerl made for a collision with Blue Typhoon inside the Haniman Zoah.

"LET'S GO, BLUE TYPHOON!" Tails bellowed.

Silver gasped.

"Mr. Tails...?" Cream said slowly, stopping in her tracks.

"Does he intend to _ram_ them?" Shade asked.

King Knuckles began to shake its fist emphatically. "C'mon, move it, move it, move it, clear a _path_!"

The Gizoids and Fremeralds darted aside of Freedom Emerl's Giga Drill, the hero king of Gizoids wiping out the few remaining Zoah.

In a flash of green light that momentarily darkened everything else, Freedom Emerl made contact with the yellow tip of Blue Typhoon, the drill impacting deeply into it, fissures running down the metal of Blue Typhoon's hull.

"Is this... how it combines with Freedom Emerl?" Silver asked exasperatedly.

"We're receiving a massive influx of Spiral Power!" Blaze called out.

Chris gasped. He'd seen this all before:

With the birth of Great Freedom Emerl.

"Ensuring the integrity of the living quarters!" he said, grinning as he made this possible at his terminal.

"And adjusting shipboard gravity to match transformation!" Rotor added, and moments later, a slight wave passed over everyone on the bridge.

And Rotor spoke into his microphone again:

"Okay, Tails! We're good to go! Hit it!"

And the Blue Typhoon glowed like an emerald in the sun.

The turbines on either side of the main engine rotated around, before an entire white forearm and clenched fist - yellow, with blue fingers - emerged from each.

The front bow of the Blue Typhoon, splitting in two down its length, rotated around so that formed the lower half of a great body half the size of Sonic City hundreds of miles below, the main turbine in the middle of its back.

The 'legs' developed segments, the blue strip becoming an ankle joint, the yellow tip becoming feet.

The runway the size of an airfield which had been attached to the front of the Blue Typhoon detached, the metal plates rearranging themselves into a face almost identical to Emerl, but with four crests sprouting from its 'third eye'.

It settled itself over the bridge of the Blue Typhoon, locking down with a _clank_ unheard in outer space. The main bridge of the Blue Typhoon glinted like a diamond in its third eye.

Freedom Emerl flew in through this face before the hatches where its mouth and nose should be closed, finding itself in a cockpit identical to that inside Freedom's, but large enough for Freedom Emerl to sit in as though it were not larger than life.

As Freedom Emerl sat in the pilot's seat, Tails and Shadow noticed a lack of butterfly controls for Freedom Emerl to control this Star Meta-Gizoid. As though waiting for this, a circular port emerged in front of the seat, a red light gleaming next to it. Spiral-shaped grooves ran down to its core.

A Giga Drill emerged from Freedom Emerl's right fist.

"Giga Drill... SPIN START!" yelled Tails, driving the Giga Core Drill into the port, glowing-green fissures appearing all over the console.

Even so, the red light turned green, the Giga Core Drill snapped into place and produced a Spiral Power gauge where Freedom Emerl's fist once connected to it...

And the Star Meta-Gizoid's empty black eyes gleamed with the emerald light of life.

Then it pointed to the heavens with its right hand.

"Smashing through both karma and fate!" Tails shouted.

"The screams of life echo through the galaxy!" Shadow continued.

Together, as the newborn Gizoid the size of half of Sonic City down below on Möbius clashed its fists together, Tails and Shadow bellowed for all to hear:

"COSMIC COMBINING!

"_TYPHOON FREEDOM EMERL!_"

**タイフーンフリーダムエメル  
Typhoon Freedom Emerl**

Tails and Shadow let out another war cry, this one longer and more powerful...

And the two giant Zoah - which had made contact with the collision and combining of their two prisoners - shattered into black blocky cubes in a double flash of blue and green light.

In the bridge of Typhoon Freedom Emerl, Silver was speechless.

"What in the...?"

Well, _almost _speechless.

"What the heck is _that_...?" Knuckles asked, his neck craning at how damn _big_ that thing was.

"They transformed something that big?" Frances asked.

"Nice find there, Rotor," Tails said brightly. "We can always count on you for tech help!" He then turned his gaze upon the fragmentary remains of the two giant Zoah. They were not moving, not even in the gravity of two large celestial objects on either side, nor were they detonating, as they should have.

The fragments suddenly whipped away, flying towards the Moon, forming up just in front of it, coalescing into an even larger single Zoah with four thin horns and a glowing-blue visor, the two black rings that looped their opposing shoulders now settling on either shoulder.

"So, they can combine, too, huh?" Tails said casually.

Typhoon Freedom Emerl cricked its own neck.

The Zoah behemoth began to float towards the Star Meta-Gizoid.

Typhoon Freedom Emerl brought up its fists. "Bring it!" Tails shouted.

Green energy burst about it, concentrating on its left fist.

"_Typhoon Freedom Emerl... FULL POWER!_"

The final Zoah brought up its right fist, colliding with Typhoon Freedom Emerl's, a burst of blue-green light bringing a bright flash of day down to the surface.

"Let's do it, Shadow!" Tails yelled.

"Suits me fine!" Shadow replied.

Typhoon Freedom Emerl rapidly unclenched and reclenched its fist, holding the digital mecha in place.

The Star Meta-Gizoid clenched its right fist, helical emerald power swirling around it...

"_Take this!_" Tails bellowed. "**Space-time Shattering...!**"

"**Burst Spinning...!**" Shadow continued.

The fist connected!

"**PUNCH!**" shouted Tails and Shadow.

The final Zoah was sent flying beyond the sphere of the Moon, spinning wildly down a drill-shaped tunnel forged from the Burst Spinning Punch's contact.

And when it reached the drill's tip...

It hit nothing.

And broke through it.

Far beyond the hole in nothing, the light of the final Zoah's explosion shined through a large, cracked hole.

Every jaw in outer space dropped.

"Is that... Tails's power?" Charmy said.

Sally appeared in his eye. "Yeah. Tails always unleashes awesome power at the very last second."

Cream appeared in his other eye, brushing her hair out of her left eye. "That seems to be the case, Miss Sally..."

Silver's eyes were popping at the shimmering hole in the middle of nothing where the final Zoah had met its end. "What is that hole?"

Rotor picked up his jaw and peered at his computer's read-out. "It looks like a hole in the fabric of time and space. Tails sent it flying to the far end of the space-time continuum."

Blaze's eyes widened. "Amazing..."

Cobar smiled, "This is the awakening of Spiral Power, isn't it?"

Rotor nodded at Cobar.

A raw red light outside drew Helen's eyes.

She looked...

And went white.

She stammered, turning her wheelchair to face the bridge.

"Th-th-the Moon...!"

_月が変形_

**SPIRAL LIFEFORM ANNIHILATION SYSTEM ENDANGERED**

**SPIRAL POWER OF INHABITANTS OF NEIGHBOURING PLANET GREATER THAN ANTICIPATED**

_**INITIATE EMERGENCY TRANSFORMATION**_

_燃えてばかりでいいのかい？_

The entire surface of the Moon, if any light could have illuminated it sufficiently, went the same rubbery-black texture as the Zoah and Messenger Cosmo's skin, the rims of each crater on its surface glowing blood-red.

The Moon expanded outwards, sprouting arms and legs, morphing into an ebony humanoid figure half the size of Möbius. Its head bore no face, only a single ruby in the middle of its head, with two horns like a demon king, and its chest bore only a pair of purple orbs over a pair of leering purple eyes, between which were five nostrils which marked the end of the face, a prominent prow like a knife lancing out and then pointing back at its faceless head. It bore enormous drills with blood-glowing grooves on its shoulders, and smaller ones on its knees. Its left drill bore straight lines, and its right bore spiraling lines.

"Impossible!" shrieked Silver. "The Moon... was a gigantic Gizoid, too?"

**反螺旋** **超弩級ギゾイド  
ヘル****ホゥエンロニックス  
Transcendent Anti-Spiral Dreadnought Gizoid  
Hell Huenlonix**

"What the hell _is _this?" Knuckles breathed.

"I can't believe it!" Sally gasped.

All about the surface of the Hell Huenlonix, red pinpricks of light lit up, and in about five seconds, it became clear what it was:

Laser blasts! Thousands of them!

All aimed at the Great Freedom Fighters!

"Oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap _oh crap oh crap oh crap OH CRAP OH CRAP OH CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP!_" Knuckles said, King Knuckles flailing wildly.

"Everyone, dodge it!" Charmy yelled.

But Typhoon Freedom Emerl's Giga Drill blocked the blasts.

"Is everyone okay?" Tails asked.

"Somehow!" Sally replied.

Typhoon Freedom Emerl's Super Spiral gauge red-lined, and it deflected the Hell Huenlonix's energy beams into the ever-narrowing space between it and Möbius.

"Don't give up!" Tails shouted. "It's just big, that's all!"

"_Tails!_"

"LOOK OUT!"

Tails turned to face forward again... just in time to see Hell Huenlonix's fist clench around him and the Typhoon Freedom Emerl, like a bug.

"TAILS!" shrieked Cream, fearful for the lives of Tails and the other half-million people on board the Typhoon Freedom Emerl.

Green light glowed through the gaps in Hell Huenlonix's fingers...

And Typhoon Freedom Emerl emerged unscathed through a hole it drilled through Hell Huenlonix's palm.

"Like I'll let you take me out _that_ easily!"

Tails's gaze drifted to the Hell Huenlonix's other arm, and...

"He's trying to punch Möbius!" Tails cried, watching as the Hell Huenlonix sluggishly brought its right fist around and attempted to drive it into Möbius's atmosphere. Already it was beginning to heat up and flame from atmospheric entry. "Like_ hell_ you'll get away with it!"

"Chao!" growled Kukku as Typhoon Freedom Emerl crossed the gap between Hell Huenlonix's hands.

Forcing the Typhoon Giga Drill deep into the crack between the middle and ring fingers of Hell Huenlonix's right hand, Tails let out a rage-filled scream as the Super Spiral engine in Typhoon Freedom Emerl's heart reached its peak.

And even that wasn't enough.

The Darkoak Head bio-computer did reactivate through that influx of Spiral Power, though.

"The Super Spiral Engine is overheating!" shouted Ash. "It won't last much longer!"

"We're gonna fall to pieces!" squawked Bean, clutching his chair in a panic.

Silver clutched the pedestal on which the Darkoak Head was set.

And the Darkoak Head was _smiling_.

"Ahh, now that is my flagship." Then his expression darkened. "But I did not enable the Hellship's Hell Huenlonix configuration. The Anti-Spiral must have incorporated a dummy program to activate it when they installed the Spiral Lifeform Annihilation System. I will now forcefully enter into Hell Huenlonix's computer core and lock them out."

"What? What are you saying, Darkoak?" Silver asked.

The pilots of Freedom Emerl heard that.

"_Darkoak?_" Tails and Shadow gasped, their respective hearts stopping for an instant.

Rotor smiled up at the two shocked faces on the main screen. "Don't worry, guys. It's just a bio-computer created from his cells. It's not like we completely brought him back to life."

"Disgusting," said Shadow simply.

"It was necessary," Silver said shakily. "We needed his information."

"That voice... Is that you, Shadow?" replied the Darkoak Head, with a paternal air that Shadow had never heard from the living Helix King. "It is alright. I must admit, this is a rather fascinating experience."

"It certainly sounds like you've changed, Helix King," said Shadow with a ghost of a smile.

"Really? I suppose I have," replied the bio-computer. "Maybe it is because I have been released from the yoke of my flesh."

"Get on with it!" Rotor said, a note of panic _very _evident in his tone. "Are you gonna hack it or not?"

"It is worth a try," said the Darkoak Head.

Suddenly, the Head began convulsing violently, before once again slumping against the inside of the glass dome.

On another plane of existence, the Lucus Darkoak Head entered digital space with an epic battle cry.

_HAX0RZ!¡!¡!1!¡one¡!¡eleventyone¡!¡1¡!_

Back on the Typhoon Freedom Emerl's bridge...

The main screen showed a blocky, digital version of Lucus Darkoak standing on a grid, looking back and forth to search for the Hell Huenlonix's main computer core. A chat window which opened up next to the digital Darkoak read:

D4RK04KH34D: _←?_

D4RK04KH34D: _→?_

D4RK04KH34D: _←..._

"The Lucus Darkoak Head has begun hacking the enemy unit," said Helen.

D4RK04KH34D: _←!_

And then the spectacle began.

_ハッキィィィングッ！__ｗｗｗｗｗｗｗ_

D4RK04KH34D: _H4jImem45Hi7e GURL_

H3775H1PHAX0RED: **ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US**

D4RK04KH34D: _PH1ND 73H K0mpu73R R00M_

D4RK04KH34D: _7h472 WH47 1M 9Onn4 dOO_

H3775H1PHAX0RED: **OH NO YOU DI'INT**

D4RK04KH34D: _1m4 8r31k Ur PH1r3W4llz now k_

H3775H1PHAX0RED: **GTFO N00B**

D4RK04KH34D: _Ur f1R3W4lL 12 Ph41L!_

H3775H1PHAX0RED: **(****－Ａ－****)**

D4RK04KH34D: _ur PH1R3w4LL 12 pH41l!_

H3775H1PHAX0RED: **（゜◇゜）**

D4RK04KH34D: _uR ph1rew4Ll 12 Ph41L!_

H3775H1PHAX0RED: **Σ(****ﾟ****Д****ﾟ****)**

D4RK04KH34D: _UR fiR3W4Ll i2 f4Il!_

H3775H1PHAX0RED: **（￣口￣；）**

D4RK04KH34D: _UR Ph1r3wAlL 12 FA1L uR f1r3W4ll 15 F41l J00R PH1r3w4LL 1s pH41L j00r F1r3w4ll 12 pH41L uR ph1R3W4Ll 12 pH41L J00r f1REwalL 1s Fa1L Ur pH1r3w4LL 12 Ph41L uR F1R3W4ll 12 F41l Ur ph1R3wAlL 1s F4iL ur PH1r3w4Ll 12 Ph41l j00r firew4Ll 12 ph41L!¡!¡!one!¡!¡!¡1¡!¡!eleven¡!¡!_

H3775H1PHAX0RED: **(****Ｔ▽Ｔ****)**

D4RK04KH34D: _1m 1N Ur 8423_

D4RK04KH34D: _pwn1N' U, n008_

H3775H1PHAX0RED: **ORLY**

D4RK04KH34D: _y4rlY_

H3775H1PHAX0RED: **N0 WAI!¡!**

D4RK04KH34D: _w41_

H3775H1PHAX0RED: **SRSLY?**

D4RK04KH34D: _5R5lY_

D4RK04KH34D: _7ha72 wA1..._

H3775H1PHAX0RED: **?**

D4RK04KH34D: _1lL K1CK d1Z pH1R3w4LL Down 2!_

H3775H1PHAX0RED: **ANTA BAKA**

D4RK04KH34D: _h3eE~3Y w7f Dud3_

H3775H1PHAX0RED: **LOL THATS A WALL NOT A FIREWALL wwwwwww**

D4RK04KH34D: _u i5 7eH NuM8uH w0n 4-h0Le_

H3775H1PHAX0RED: **YOU HAVE NO CHANCE TO SURVIVE MAKE YOUR TIME ( ****ﾟ∀ﾟ****)****ｱﾊﾊ八八ﾉヽﾉヽﾉヽﾉ ＼****/ ****＼****/ ****＼**

D4RK04KH34D: _0M5p1R4L TH12 w4Y!¡! PHOUnd D4 kOmpu73R ROOm!¡!¡eleven!¡!¡!_

H3775H1PHAX0RED: **(╬ ****ಠ****益****ಠ****)  
**

D4RK04KH34D: _W0aH a 80cX!¡!¡!¡one¡! i U23 73h MA9iC k3Y 70 0p3n I7!¡!1! sYsRq ph7W!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!¡111¡!¡one¡!¡overNINETHOUSANDones¡!¡!¡!¡!¡!_

H3775H1PHAX0RED: **YOUR KEY IS OUT OF BULLETS**

D4RK04KH34D: _wryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy_

D4RK04KH34D: _hE4DDesk_

H3775H1PHAX0RED: **CEASE AND DESIST**

D4RK04KH34D: _N0 U_

H3775H1PHAX0RED: **WHAT IS THIS I DONT EVEN**

D4RK04KH34D: _H3aDd35Kh34DD35KHeAdDEsk_

H3775H1PHAX0RED: **PLZ STOP N00B**

D4RK04KH34D: _w00t!¡ 17 OPeN noW!¡!¡!1! WHOAAAAAAAAAAH! Inside there was a Computer Chip!¡!_

H3775H1PHAX0RED: **OMMERLINA NUUUUUUUUUU**

D4RK04KH34D: _N0w... 1lL 74K3 4 k0mpu73r Ch1P... AND 3at 1T!_

D4RK04KH34D: _*chomp*_

H3775H1PHAX0RED: **OTL**

D4RK04KH34D: _hA!¡!¡!1! N0w 1 15 BR3AK1N' Ur arM5 aND L3G2 W17 mY h3ad wwwwwwwww_

H3775H1PHAX0RED: **QUIT WITH TEH HAX0RZ BAKA **┏**(****；****,)**┓

D4RK04KH34D: _j00R 7HRUS73r2 12 pha1l 700 ┏(__・__o__･__)┛ ┗ ( __･__o__･__) ┓ ┏ (_ _) ┛ ┗ (__･__o__･ __) ┓ ┏(__･__o__･__)┛ _

H3775H1PHAX0RED: **NO CAN BRAIN TODAY. WANT CHEEZBURGER (****ﾟ∀ﾟ****)**

D4RK04KH34D: _4 W1nn3R 12 m3H_

H3775H1PHAX0RED: **F U**

D4RK04KH34D: _k7Hx841 (^-^)V_

_ハッキング完了_

The Darkoak Head drowsily rose up again.

"Hacking of enemy unit Hell Huenlonix complete," it said. Indeed, the Hell Huenlonix had stopped moving. "Its weapon and thruster systems are now disabled and locked out by a 1337-character-long password. It will not keep the Anti-Spiral's systems out forever, but for at least five minutes, it will be safe to approach."

Computer images of a digital Hell Huenlonix appeared on every computer screen on the Typhoon Freedom Emerl.

Including inside Emerl's cockpit.

"What's this?" Tails asked.

The computer image zoomed in through the torso of the Hell Huenlonix, following a tube that led from its middle nostril into a circular chamber in the core of the titan.

At the back, was a large drill-shaped indentation.

"Insert your source of Spiral Power here," said the Darkoak Head. "When you do, the Moon will come under your control."

"I can... control something that big?" Tails asked.

The Darkoak Head appeared in the corner of his eye.

"Of course you can," it said. "That is my ultimate weapon, the Hell Huenlonix."

Shadow appeared over the Darkoak Head.

"Interesting, fox boy," he said. "This is what you do best: stealing enemy Gizoids. Let's do it!"

The Lucus Darkoak Head appeared over Shadow this time...

And it looked fierce, and determined.

"That is where you are wrong, Shadow. We are not stealing an _enemy_ mecha. We are taking back... Spiral life's guardian deity!"

**つづく  
To be continued...**

* * *

次回予告  
Next Episode Preview

Now, Möbiankind is left with one option if it is to survive:

The subjugation and enslavement of a god.

No. There is one more option.

And that is...

Next time on _Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl_: _**"This Is My Final Duty"**_.

(**9 July 2011 NOTE:** The Hax0rz scene was updated to feature actual leetspeak. I would advise searching for a L33t Translator on Google (type in 'l33t translator' and hit I'm Feeling Lucky. That's where I got it done).)


	29. Chapter 28

_(Chapter Twenty-eight. Man, work's really keeping me distracted from writing. But I'm sure you guys understand the necessity of real life. Enjoy!)_

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT:  
This Is My Final Duty**

Rotor examined the read-outs from the Darkoak Head. "From the size of the port in Hell Huenlonix's heart, it looks like it'll take a Giga Core Drill."

Tails smirked. "So, you want me to go out in Freedom Emerl, huh?" He hailed the Fremeralds Cheese and Buzz Buzz. "Charmy, Cream! You two take control of Typhoon Freedom Emerl! Push the Hell Huenlonix back!"

"Right!" Charmy gave a thumbs-up and Cream nodded deeply.

The white panels that made up the lower half of Typhoon Freedom Emerl's face slid apart, and Freedom Emerl flew out, Giga Drill Driver at the ready as it dove through the middle nostril on Hell Huenlonix's chest.

Typhoon Freedom Emerl's face slid back together, and Buzz Buzz and Cheese took the controls. Typhoon Freedom Emerl lifted its arms and rammed its fists into the Hell Huenlonix's prone form, firing off a tornado of Spiral Power from its engines.

"Tails is counting on us, Charmy!" Cream said.

"Hang in there, Buzz Buzz!" Charmy said, gritting his teeth. "Mass production models have their pride, too!"

But even with Typhoon Freedom Emerl putting its full force forward, the Hell Huenlonix's inconceivable mass began to drift towards Möbius.

"Three minutes until the Hell Huenlonix reactivates!" Helen called out.

Silver listlessly leaned down to Helen's microphone. "Did you hear that, Charmy, Cream? Try to force that thing back for two more minutes. And then... a minute before reactivation... Typhoon Freedom Emerl will disengage."

All eyes on the bridge were drawn to Silver, whose eyebrows were drawn together in determinance.

"I will protect the lives of the 530,000 people on this ship," he said steadily. "No matter how much scorn you heap on me... this is my final duty."

Charmy and Cream were stunned by Silver's resolve. They would have felt like fools to say anything other than what they did:

"Roger."

_お前ら全員燃えてしまえっ！！！_

Freedom Emerl flew down the seemingly endless service tunnel that led from to the core of the Hell Huenlonix. Tails had never even imagined mechanics at this scale. The Giga Drill Driver did not even scrape the edges of the tunnel, and Tails could not see the end of the tunnel.

"How long does this thing _go_?" he shouted.

As if on cue, the end of the tunnel came upon him. It was a steel wall that Tails could not know was actually a meter thick.

Its chances of hindering a man who wanted to save the planet he loved?

Zero percent.

A steel door slammed down behind Freedom Emerl as it entered the chamber beyond.

It was like being on the inside of a sphere. Typhoon Freedom Emerl would have had room for itself and _two _of its Typhoon Giga Drill Drivers quite comfortably. Spiraling lights led from the tunnel Tails had just left to the opposite end of the round chamber, where a drill-shaped port stuck from the wall. It was as though the Core Drill port inside Emerl had been blown up and stretched around the inside of a sphere three-hundred kilometers across.

"Is that the heart of this machine?" Tails said, clenching the controls still more tightly.

"We're almost out of time, fox boy! GO!" Shadow shouted.

"You don't need to tell me twice!" Tails bellowed, bringing back the Giga Drill Driver. "Just who the hell do you think I a—"

And Freedom Emerl froze less than a foot from the drill port, as though time had stopped around it. Tails's voice had cut off just as abruptly.

"What's wrong?" Shadow demanded.

Then he saw it.

There, floating exactly in the middle of the giga drill port, the tip of the Giga Drill Driver less than a millimeter from her throat, was the Anti-Spiral Messenger, Cosmo.

She looked exactly as Tails always thought the Messenger Cosmo looked: beautiful and terrible. Black skin like rubber and glowing data lines were all he could see.

"Cosmo..." Tails breathed, before yelling, "Get out of the way, Cosmo!"

"I am afraid I cannot do that," she replied coldly. "I am the Anti-Spiral's Messenger program. Eradicating you Spiral races is my sole directive."

"Don't give me that crap! Just _move_!"

"I will not, so you may as well crush me with your drill."

Shadow took Freedom's controls, "If that's the way you want it!"

Rotor appeared in Shadow's eye; he looked very harried, "Wait, Shadow! Lucus says that you shouldn't!"

"What? This is no time for familial sentimentality, Helix King!"

The Darkoak Head replaced Rotor.

"You misunderstand my motives, Shadow. The computer-generated body of an Anti-Spiral Messenger is constructed of the same volatile digital matter as the Zoah," it explained. "If you were to drive that drill into her, there would be a tremendous explosion, and the control system would be destroyed."

Shadow's grip weakened. "No... but... we're so _close_..."

"That is absolute despair," said the Messenger Cosmo. "The survival instinct is incredibly strong in you Spiral races. That is why we extinguish every ray of hope left to you, one by one. When there at first appears to be hope, but then you learn it is beyond your reach, that is when your despair is deepest."

From his vantage point on the bridge of Typhoon Freedom Emerl, Silver was paralyzed with fear.

_The appearance of the Zoah... the falling of the Moon... the predicted destruction of the underground shelters... the ambush in outer space... is she saying that these were all calculated moves? How _far_ does this all_ go_?_

"Yes..." Cosmo continued. "Fear and despair are the two greatest deterrents to the magnifying nature of Spiral Power."

According to the Messenger program's algorithms, that should have been sufficient to send Miles Prower's Spiral instinct to the nadir of hopelessness.

"Are you sure about that?"

The Messenger paused.

"Cosmo, the way I see it," Tails said, and his brows were furrowed, "I think you've actually been trying to _toughen up_ Möbiankind."

The Messenger gasped, but her face remained as implacable as if it were set in stone.

Tails continued, "No matter how hard the challenge, we Möbians have always risen up to meet the challenge. The more dangerous the circumstances you put us in, the stronger we became. That's what brought me here, to this place. And that's what you hoped of me." He challenged her, "Tell me I'm wrong."

"You and I exist in different dimensions," said the Messenger. "My past was a fictional creation. Your words mean nothing to me."

"That's a _lie_!"

"That is the truth."

For some reason now, Tails was staring down at the Messenger's left hand. "If that's true... if that's _really_ true, why are you wearing that ring?"

That affected the Messenger's expression like nothing else Tails could have said. Her mouth dropped open, a white gap into the emptiness inside the digital shell of her body. Her blue eyes flickered, revealing black pupils.

And those pupils were focused on that white, seed-shaped diamond set into the golden ring around her left ring finger.

"This is..." the Messenger said. And there was more emotion there than in all the times Tails had heard her speak before.

"That... is your desire to not let go of your past, Cosmo."

And the ring glinted.

And Tails knew.

"I get it now, Cosmo." And he smiled. "Why you appeared to me those times."

The Messenger's face returned to its stoic impassivity. "To afflict absolute despair upon you. I have just explained that."

As terrible as it was to see Cosmo's skin having gone from white and soft to so black and rubbery, and with all those glowing computer lines running through it, hers was the only face in the world for Tails in that moment.

"You're wrong," he said. "Maybe you didn't realize it yourself, but when you appeared to me, you were really screaming for help under that emotionless mask of yours."

And Tails's mind was filled with images of Cosmo foretelling the cataclysmic Spiral Nemesis while pleading _Tails!_, Cosmo reaching to take his face in that court room while imploring _I'm right here..._, Cosmo about to kill him with blasts of killing red energy while begging _Please! Help me!_...

"I'm sorry... that I didn't hear your screams until now," Tails smiled, tears spilling down his face.

The Messenger's cold blue eyes were flickering, her black pupils coming back into view. Crystal tears dripped from them, running down her cheeks, cutting skin-colored trails in the black skin and glowing data lines of the Anti-Spiral Messenger.

"Y-you're wrong..." even the electronic reverb behind her voice was wavering. "I was..."

But the Messenger hiccuped, and could not continue.

"When we took down your father Lucus, you said that you would head towards tomorrow," Tails continued, as steadily as he could. "And we built that tomorrow, along with the other people who came to the surface. Would you destroy that yourself?"

Tails pulled back the Giga Drill...

"I'm gonna grab hold of your tomorrow with my own two hands!"

...and rammed it forward!

"So, get out of the way! _Please, COSMO!_"

The drill made contact.

The space of a single heartbeat passed when Tails feared that he had been all wrong about Cosmo...

And the Spiral gauge around Freedom Emerl lit up.

Shadow smiled in spite of himself.

"Look, fox boy!"

_制御下_

"Seventy seconds to Hell Huenlonix reactivation!" Helen shouted shrilly.

"Charmy... Cream... prepare to disengage," Silver said.

"Wait! Look!" shouted Rotor and Cobar, pointing at the former Moon.

The blackened crust over the Hell Huenlonix's appearance chipped away, dissipating into nothingness, revealing a lustrous gold. Large segments of the Hell Huenlonix - undoubtedly, those created from the core pilot's Spiral power - reverted to red computer grids and winked out of existence. The entire Gizoid rotated around itself, its forearms becoming thrusters on either side of the quasi-face, the drills on its knees contracting into themselves and transforming into the turbines of engines ten times the size of the Blue Typhoon. Another set of engines on a stalk emerged from its underbelly.

The timer until the Anti-Spiral program could have taken control of the Hell Huenlonix again stood frozen at **00:01:01**.

"The Hell Huenlonix... It's returning to battleship mode!" Helen said breathlessly.

The Lucus Darkoak Head gave a look as close to misty-eyed as it could manage. "Ahh, yes, my Hellship is returned to me..."

"I guess that means he took control of it," Rotor said brightly.

As if on cue, an almost infinite number of hatches opened up on the Hellship's underside, firing off a sea of Spiral flames.

"The Moon Gizoid battleship has fired its retro rockets!" Helen's relief was obvious. "It's returning to its original orbit!"

A sigh of great release swept the bridge of the Typhoon Freedom Emerl.

"Looks like he pulled another victory out of the hat," Rotor smiled.

Silver collapsed into a chair. His smile was not relieved, but weary. Blaze gave him a trepidatious look as he said, "I can't do it... I can't hold a candle to you. In the end, you overturned every plan set against you..."

Down in the hangar of the Typhoon Freedom Emerl, Knuckles and Sally had both folded their arms.

"Well, that's Tails for ya," Knuckles smirked.

"Yeah," Sally agreed. "He's really come far, hasn't he?"

_アンチスパイラルの母星_

The hatch of Emerl opened up, and Tails stood atop the Gizoid which had killed three of the four Helix Generals, had created a tomorrow for Spiral life on the surface of Möbius, and now had taken control of a Gizoid half the size of Möbius itself, and looked at the drill port at the back of the Hellship's heart.

Cosmo floated beside Freedom Emerl's arm. Her skin had returned to its original color, as had her hair and the rest of her body. Apart from the fact that she was _floating_, it was as though she had never been the Anti-Spiral Messenger.

That, and she was naked.

But Tails had seen Cosmo naked before. And she him.

He smiled at her. "Thank you, Cosmo."

She did not look up at him.

"But... this will not change your destiny."

"What?" Tails gasped. She still sounded like the Messenger! What was going on...?

"With the forced deactivation of the Möbiankind Annihilation System," Cosmo said, "The entire Anti-Spiral race will enter into a total war front. If they set their mind to it, not even _you_ will be a match for them. The Anti-Spiral's main war fleet will arrive in this galaxy, and exterminate Möbiankind and its awakened Spiral Power."

Shadow, his arms folded, said lowly, "So... the war is only just beginning..."

"If we defeat them," Tails asked, "Will you go back to being your old self?"

"I will shortly be called back to the Anti-Spiral homeworld, so that my data on you Möbians can be collated and analyzed," Cosmo explained. "The likelihood of that is infinitely close to zero."

"Maybe, but it _isn't_ zero," Tails pressed on, grinning at Cosmo, "Which means that, as far as I'm concerned, that makes it a _hundred_ percent chance you'll come back!"

Cosmo looked up at Tails, and she was herself, and she looked lost and frightened.

For Tails couldn't know.

Already Cosmo could hear a voice growing in the back of her mind, calling from the great Anti-Spiral homeworld of Avalon.

_**it is time.**_

"Will you come and rescue me?" she said to Tails, trying to ignore the slipping reality around her.

_**it is time...**_

_**to end this.  
**_

"I promise. Who the hell do you think I am?" Tails smirked.

Despite the situation, Cosmo smiled back...

Just as her body began to dissolve, pixel by pixel, polygon by polygon. For she was still a digital lifeform; she only appeared to be a Seedrian anymore.

Tails gasped, going pale, as Cosmo's voice echoed to him as she vanished completely, "I am being recalled... to the Anti-Spiral homeworld... Avalon..."

Tails clenched his teeth, and Cosmo's entire naked form blasted into his mind at full force as he screamed...

"_COSMO!_"

Back on the Typhoon Freedom Emerl, images of Cosmo's ring flashed wildly across every computer screen on the bridge.

"QUACK! What it is this time?" squawked Bean in alarm, speaking for everyone.

The Darkoak Head then said something which shocked everyone present.

"Through my link-up to Freedom Emerl, I have pinpointed the dimensional coordinates of the Anti-Spiral homeworld."

Rotor gasped.

The Darkoak Head said in a commanding tone, "Transfer the bridge to the Hellship immediately. I will bring the Spiral Realm Perceptual Teleportation System online and input the dimensional coordinates."

In the core of the Hellship, Tails heard Rotor's voice as though through a long tunnel, even though the screen showing Rotor's face was right inside Emerl, less than five feet away from him.

"Tails! Lucus says that we can reach the enemy's stronghold!"

Tails stared at the spiraling ceiling overhead.

"Good," he growled. "Then let's go. Cosmo is there, too."

And when Tails glowered with determination, Kukku hovering at his shoulder, it was not a green glow in his eyes, but a _golden _gleam.

"This time, _we're_ taking the fight to _them_!"

**つづく  
To be continued...**

* * *

次回予告  
Next Episode Preview

Even twisted roads will straighten out if you kick common sense out and give them a whack! Spirit and love change the universe. That's how stubbornness shows itself!

Next time on _Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl_: _**"Let's Go, This Is The Final Battle!"**_


	30. Chapter 29

_(Chapter Twenty-nine. Things are starting to wind up, aren't they? Leading up to an apocalyptic final battle! Well, let's go see the battle preps!)_

_

* * *

_

"This is the tale of a man who blows a hole in the destiny of a universe torn by the endless cycle of violence.

"As Möbius's destruction looms ever closer, the reborn Freedom Emerl combines with the Blue Typhoon, and, with the Moon Gizoid under his control, Tails saves Möbius.

"However, Cosmo, the Anti-Spiral's Messenger program, is recalled to the enemy homeworld of Avalon."

**CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE:  
Let's Go, This Is The Final Battle!**

**月落下阻止から４時間  
Four Hours Since Prevention of Moonfall**

"So... everyone..." Tails cleared his throat awkwardly. "I would like to say that, I've chosen Shadow here, to be the main pilot of Freedom. He will be attending our mission-planning meetings from now on."

Shadow merely folded his arms, looking over the Great Freedom Fighters...

From Bean, whose beak was so slack that it formed a right angle...

To Rotor, who was pulling on black gloves with glowing points on the joints...

To Chris, who was slowly chewing a hamburger...

To Ari, who had folded his arms and was giving Shadow a penetrating stare...

To Big, who was looking at Shadow with piercing yellow eyes...

To Bark, who was glaring sharply at Shadow...

To Espio, whose hands were folded in front of his mouth...

To Mighty, who had cocked an eyebrow as he looked at the hedgehog-shaped Black Arms...

To Lobo, who was giving Shadow a polite and respectful glance now and again...

To Vector, who was resting his large crocodile jaws on a large hand...

To Elias, who was resting a single fist on the table, his thick eyebrows coming together suspiciously...

To Sally, who was wearing a long blue jacket and inspecting the parts of her sniper rifle Nicole...

And finally to Knuckles, who was leaning back in his chair and giving Shadow an unreadable expression...

Shadow narrowed his eyes on them all.

"I don't expect you all to simply let bygones be bygones," he said lowly. "But I _do_ want you to understand that it isn't just _you_ people who want to protect Möbius. It is the home to us Black Arms as well."

"Well, well," Knuckles said, half-grinning and half-glaring. "Listen to _you_, being all modest. You don't have to beg and scrape. Tails hand-picked you. That makes you the same as all of us."

Sally was staring down Nicole's detached barrel, looking for grains of gunpowder, no doubt. "We gonna launch a full frontal assault on the enemy's stronghold within twelve hours. We can't afford to get hung up on the little details." She blew down the gun barrel, and a small cloud of soot shot out the other end.

"And there are some of us who show up out of nowhere with no word at all for six years who haven't changed at all," Knuckles smirked.

Sally gave him a withering look. "Goodness, whoever could you be referring to?"

Knuckles leaned back to almost horizontal. "I thought you said we weren't sweatin' the details."

Bark slammed his fists on the table. "Yeah! All that matters is that no one's better at being rough and ready than us Möbians!"

"Yeah!" Big put a fist in the air.

Shadow shook his head lightly. "You Möbians..."

"Speaking of which..." Tails looked around. "Where's Silver?"

"He's busy hammering out the Surface Restoration Plan in his provisional office here on the Hellship," said Rotor, flexing his fingers in their viewscreen manipulation gloves. "He said that all further mission planning will be up to us."

Then, Rotor got up, standing at the end of the table opposite Tails and Shadow, waved a hand in the air, and a green screen appeared before him.

"Then, let's get down to business. This is the result of collating all data thus far."

A wireframe model of the Hellship appeared onscreen.

"The Möbius Spiral Flagship, currently in lunar orbit, the Hellship."

The model turned into a perfect sphere with a jack-o'-lantern face.

"The Anti-Spiral stole it and disguised it as our Moon."

A wireframe of Freedom Emerl appeared.

"Freedom Emerl."

The computer POV zoomed out, revealing the Freedom Emerl standing on the deck of...

"The Blue Typhoon."

The POV pulled out even further, showing the Blue Typhoon in the shadow of...

"The Hellship."

Spiral-shaped diagrams appeared around the screen.

"The thing that brings out the potential of each is Spiral Power. That refers to the power of evolution present in us lifeforms which possess a double-helical genetic structure."

Rotor turned around, and saw that his audience was giving him blank, even confused stares. Bean had actually rested his head on the desk; a bubble was coming from one of his nostrils.

Rotor sighed.

"To put it simply," he snapped his fingers, "It's fighting spirit."

Videos of the Great Freedom Fighters' Gizoids doing battle covered the screen.

That did it.

"Oh! Fighting spirit!"

"_That_ makes sense!"

"Shoulda said so in the first place!"

Waving his hand, Rotor made the screen become a blank green again.

"It appears," he continued, "That the Anti-Spiral were themselves a Spiral race once, just like we are. But, they came to believe that continued usage of Spiral Power would lead to the destruction of the universe."

Pausing for a moment, Rotor flicked a finger...

And a news report video from less than two weeks before came up on screen. Tails did not avert his eyes.

For on screen was the one this mission planning session was all about saving.

Cosmo was only a dark silhouette before the Moon, her eyes glowing with blue electronic frost, but she had not yet been completely converted into a Messenger program. She said levelly and coldly, "The Spiral Nemesis will bring about the destruction of the universe. We Anti-Spiral exist to prevent the Spiral Nemesis."

With a flick of that same finger, Rotor clicked the video away.

"By 'Spiral Nemesis', she likely means some hypothetical destruction of the universe only Spiral Power could bring about," Rotor said, calling up an image of an expanding collection of glowing squares forcing themselves into a collection of drills which had coil-shaped lines leading off-screen.

"So, the Anti-Spiral rebelled against the Spiral races. The Spiral races fought back, but were summarily defeated."

The drills were forced into the corner of the screen.

"Why did they fail? Evidently, the Anti-Spiral had hid their stronghold of a homeworld in a universe with a different set of dimensional axes, which has remained undiscovered until now."

A Steadicam video from the Möbian surface of the Moon transforming into the Hell Huenlonix was called up.

"Having emerged victorious, the Anti-Spiral installed Spiral Lifeform Annihilation Systems on any planet that they detected a Spiral Power reading on. The System would be triggered once the neighboring Spiral race's technology reached a point of exactly one-hundred kilometers above sea level."

A seven-year-old video feed from Freedom's databanks showed Galahad Village.

"In order to survive, the Spiral races - well, those of Möbius, at least - were forced to eke out a meager existence underground."

Sally was halfway through rebuilding Nicole. She put up her hand.

"So," she asked, "What's the story of the Black Arms? And the animals that were _on_ the surface when _we _came up?"

Shadow answered before Rotor could open his mouth.

"We Black Arms were all beings created by the Helix King. He created each Black Arms to be a unique species in and of him- or herself, to keep exact count of our number, and to prevent any distractions from our duties. The animals of the surface, like the Black Arms, are all infertile; our reproduction, if it can be called that, is handled through cloning."

"Basically," Rotor continued, "Since Black Arms don't have Spiral Power, they cannot produce children. It is the genetic diversity resulting from gamogenesis that is the key to evolution. It is in this that the upwardly-mobile Power of the Spiral resides."

Rotor sighed; again, he'd lost his audience in the technobabble.

He put his fingers together, forming a heart.

"Basically, love changes the universe!" he said desperately.

"Oh, I got it!"

"Makes _perfect _sense!"

"Way to clear it up!"

Rotor swept his hand across the screen, which was showing Sonic yelling at Priest Aurum, and it went blank green again.

"At the moment, the Lucus Darkoak Head is busy reactivating the Spiral Realm Perceptual Teleportation System, so that it can input our recently acquired coordinates for the Anti-Spiral homeworld, and warp there. The Spiral Realm Perceptual Teleportation System has been offline for almost two-thousand years, so it's taking a while to start up again." Rotor sighed again. "Honestly, it's a battleship half the size of our planet, operating on systems simpler than the ones that operated the Parliament Complex, and it can warp through space. Just what kind of monsters were the Spiral races at their peak?"

Tails grinned. "And you're pretty monstrous for figuring out how to work it in just half an hour, Rotor."

Rotor chuckled, "And if I have anyone to blame, it's you, Tails. Seven years ago, I could barely read or write my name, and now look at me! Programming the Moon to jump to another universe!"

Tails nodded, his expression darkening.

"Yeah. We'll find the Anti-Spiral, no matter what. That's where Cosmo is... and..."

Sally gave Tails a significant look. "Oh, come on, Tails. Don't get gloomy. Love changes the universe, remember?" She brought up Nicole, and cocked back her bullet chamber. "So I say let's change it. We'll force it to."

"YEAH!" Knuckles bellowed gruffly. "LOVE AND SPIRIT! LET'S DO THIS!"

Sally narrowed her blue eyes at Knuckles. "It doesn't sound as good coming from you."

"Kiss my ass."

The door to the planning room burst open.

Blaze looked pale.

"Tails! It's Silver!"

"What? What's wrong? Did something go wrong with the Surface Restoration Plan?"

"No, that's gone fine. It's just... well, Silver, he..."

_スターギゾイド_

Tails and Blaze had run off to go find Silver. Knuckles honestly didn't care what happened to the Pothead; he'd locked Tails away and almost had him put to death for no reason, and abandoned almost all of Möbius to the potential fire and death of Moonfall. If the potheaded hedgehog had thrown himself out of one of the Hellship's airlocks, Knuckles felt it would have been a long time coming.

Stepping onto circles of light on the floor, most of the Great Freedom Fighters found themselves surrounded by light, and before they knew it...

"What the...?" Big scratched his head.

"The room changed!" Bark shouted.

"Dummies!" Vector snapped. "This starship's so damn big you need to get around using teleporters."

"Better figure out which warper leads to the jogging track, then," Knuckles quipped.

"We have a jogging track?" asked Big.

Looking into the room, Knuckles goggled.

"Th... those things are scary big..."

**ヘルシップ内**  
**スターギゾイド格納庫  
Inside the Hellship  
Star Gizoid Hangar**

Lupe smirked at Knuckles and his companions from her console. She had come up to the Hellship as soon as she could find someone to trust her children to - her Wolf Clan.

"They were lying about this behemoth's hangar," she said. "Apparently, the Gizoids you rode around on the surface? Just mobile cockpits for _these_: the Star Gizoids."

Knuckles's eyes nearly popped out as he looked up at the crimson titan before him. That thing was _way_ bigger than the Great MetaRex, and this thing was on _his _side. And there were _so many Star Gizoids on their side_, each a match for the size of Typhoon Freedom Emerl! Knuckles's looked like his King Knuckles, but... darker. More demonic. Its green eyes gleamed like portals into emerald hellfire. Its left arm bore a vaguely koala-shaped shield - Knuckles smirked - and its right arm terminated in a spiral-decorated spear. Looking closely, Knuckles saw what he could have sworn were oversized chainsaws built into its legs.

**スターキングナックルズ  
Star King Knuckles**

Vector looked up at the dark-green Star Gizoid, his jaw hanging slack. It was most certainly more menacing than his own Vector Prime. It had pillars emerging from its shoulders, each finger ending in a laser cannon more powerful by far than the Great MetaRex's Final Nova attack.

**スターベクタープライム  
Star Vector Prime**

Mighty grinned a pig-rolling-in-its-own-shit grin as he stared up at the city-sized double of his Mighty Fists. Its rear legs apparently doubled as rockets for deep space combat, and its two small arms each ended in double Spiral gatling guns.

**スターマイティーフィスツ  
Star Mighty Fists**

Espio gave his Star Gizoid an approving nod. It was, according to Lupe's computer screen, outfitted with a cloaking device that made it invisible in space combat. It looked more like Espio's Espionaj than the other Star Gizoids looked like their Gizoid cockpits, but the Star Gizoid equivalent of Espionaj had a power generator for its Spiral Cannon that quadrupled its body length.

**スターエスピオナッジ  
Star Espionaj**

Big's jaw dropped, and Bark nodded his head in approval, at the sight of their Star Gizoid. The Star Gizoid of Double Bruiser had evolved the look of its cockpit such that its two heads had faced to either side completely now; a third face rested between its shoulders. Its arms and legs were each as thick as the Parliament Complex, and clearly concealed many missile ports.

**スターダブルブルーザー  
Star Double Bruiser**

Lobo smiled at his wife, then glanced up at the dark-yellow knight that stood above him. Large laser cannons were mounted into its shoulders, and into the hilt of its sword.

**スターオドネル  
Star O'Donnell**

Sally set a hand on her hip. The Star Gizoid that her Acorn Cannon served as a mobile cockpit for. It had twin cannons on its head, and countless hatches along its arms and legs - and along the grill that served as a mouth - that could potentially fire off infinite missiles and rockets.

**スターエイコーンキャノン  
Star Acorn Cannon**

Shadow folded his arms.

"I guess this means that we _need_ things that big to fight the Anti-Spiral," he said.

"Say, Shadow," Knuckles said, turning to the hedgehog-shaped Black Arms. "I got a few words to say to you."

"Fire away."

Knuckles punched Shadow.

Twice.

Thrice.

Four times.

Shadow wiped away the green blood Knuckles had drawn from his namesake punching holes in Shadow's cheeks. Five seconds later, they'd sealed up again.

And Shadow smirked.

"I was waiting for this, echidna. Let me guess: payback for your village?"

"_And_ for the villages of the _other_ Wandering Orphans. You know? Feral Forest? Percival? Windmill?"

"I am afraid that, despite being immortal, my memory has not improved. But we're even now, I suppose."

Knuckles grit his teeth. "Not yet. I'm seriously tempted to kick you in the balls for _all_ the villages you glassed, but..." Knuckles gave a nasty sneer. "If what you said is right, you don't _have _any, so... I guess we _are_ even."

Shadow's glare could have killed if he had Spiral Power.

"S-so..." Sally said hastily, trying to stave off the building tension. "Who's gonna pilot Eliastriker's Star Gizoid?"

"_I_ will!"

The nearest teleporter sprouted a head of chocolate-brown hair with green eyes, then a female torso in a purple dress, and a squirrel's tail. And Sally's sister-in-law, Meg Acorn stepped out, a fiercely determined look on her face.

No sooner did she step off the warp pad when Elias appeared behind her.

"Meg, _no_!" he begged, stepping forward (Marine, carrying Alexis, appeared behind him, making funny faces to distract the baby squirrel from her parents' squabbling). "Someone needs to stay behind to make sure Allie is safe."

"I trust Blaze and Marine to look after her while we're gone," Meg said irritably. "Besides, Alexis _isn't_ safe. Not anywhere. Not as long as the Anti-Spiral exist. They tried to kill our little girl, Elias, and you expect me to stay on Möbius and hang laundry and let them _get away with it_?"

"Not every mother on Möbius wants to get revenge against the Anti-Spiral, Meg!"

"Not every mother on Möbius fought the Helix King to make sure their kids would be able to live under a safe sky! I piloted Eliastriker against the Capital, remember?"

Elias hesitated. "That was _different_... you weren't a _mother_ then..."

Meg looked pained. "I am _not_ going to be told that just because I have a kid that I can't fight if I want to. Besides, you're going to captain this behemoth while Tails goes out to fight, right? Who _else _can pilot Eliastriker's Star Gizoid? Sally can't pilot two Gizoids at once. You need every good Gizoid pilot you can out there at the edge of the universe."

Elias's fists clenched and unclenched, his eyes never blinking or looking away from Meg's equally steadfast eyes. Finally, his hands going slack, he wrapped her in his arms as tears ran down his face.

"I'm so glad I married you," he sobbed. "Just promise me: come back to me when the fight is over."

Meg smiled. "I'm so glad you understand me, you big dummy," she said. "I'm glad I married you, too. But promise me, that you'll keep safe, too. This ship can't be invincible."

"Yes! _Yes!_ I promise!" Elias shouted through his tears.

"Hey! Stop crying, honey!" Meg laughed.

"Men are such odd blokes, ain't they, Allie?" Marine asked. Alexis clapped her hands against her surrogate aunt's face, smiling blissfully.

"Didja hear Dad, little Allie?" Knuckles said in a horrible baby voice. "Mommy and Daddy and Unkie Knuxie are going to da udder end uh da galaxy. And we'll have lotsa nice stories when we all get back."

"Sounds like a solid plan," said Espio. "Megan is right; every good Gizoid pilot is needed in this battle."

"Nice to have you on board," Lobo smiled.

"The Eliastriker's Star Gizoid..." Meg said, indicating the mecha next to Sally's Star Gizoid.

"You mean the Star Eliastriker?" Lupe asked.

"No," Elias said. "I think that, since I'm not gonna be piloting that Star Gizoid, _Elias_triker is kinda inappropriate." He gazed at his wife. "What will _you_ name it, Meg?"

Meg looked up at the Star Gizoid beside the Star Acorn Cannon. Apart from the face that it bore a single Spiral Cannon on its head, and its blue color scheme as opposed to Star Acorn Cannon's purple hue, it was a twin of Sally's Star Gizoid.

Meg smiled.

And said its new name:

**スターアレクシストライカー  
Star Alexistriker**

"Star Alexistriker."

Elias smiled. "Then it's settled. That's pretty much everyone and their Star Gizoids."

"Wait a moment, please!"

"Don't forget us, okay?"

Cream and Charmy appeared on the same teleporter.

"What, you two are coming along, too?" Vector asked.

"Not just them," said Shade, the orange echidna appearing on another teleporter and stepping off.

"At least a dozen other Fremerald pilots volunteered for this, too," said Molly as she appeared.

"We're all in this together," added Frances, stepping off of her warp pad.

"There weren't any super-sized Fremeralds to choose from," Lupe said, pointing her thumb over her shoulder at Typhoon Freedom Emerl-sized mechas that looked like cousins of the Helix King's personal Gizoid. All were pitch-black, with two triangle-shaped eyes (one on the head, one on the chest), and a blank-white cape. "But there were these that your mechas could pilot:"

**量産型ホゥエンロニックス**  
**スター・エメラロイド  
Mass Production Huenlonix Models  
Star Emeraloids**

"The Star Emeraloids. Take good care of them, Fremerald pilots."

Cream wore a serious expression. "This is not just about rescuing Miss Cosmo. The fate of Möbius hangs in the balance."

"That _is_ the Fremerald Squadron's mission, after all," Charmy added, "So it's only natural that we should go."

"Mission?" Big pondered.

"This ain't a mission, kids! This is a _brawl_!" Bark barked.

"A brawl?"

"Yeah, a brawl," Knuckles grinned. "The biggest brawl in the universe, started by Tails finding a little emerald drill in the dirt. And _he's_ off to rescue his flower from the Devil himself." Knuckles shook his head a bit. "Damn it... I _know _that Möbius _itself_ is on the line, but parta me is _excited_. I _never_ shoulda held onta that government job, and instead gone runnin' around the world like _you_, Sal."

"Everyone figures out their path in life at their own pace," Sally said, leaning back against a railing. "It's different for everyone."

Sally subconsciously pulled open her jacket, and Knuckles nearly had a nosebleed. She was wearing a bra with stars over her breasts, a black thong, and _nothing else_.

After a moment of stunned silence, Knuckles burst out laughing. "You musta been hangin' around too many school teachers! You're saying stuff just like one!"

Sally gave a knowing smirk.

"But still, I'm glad you're back, Sal," Knuckles said. "I mean, we can't rightfully call ourselves the Great Freedom Fighters without you and your figure!" He formed an hourglass figure with his fists, before facing the other Great Freedom Fighters. "Right, guys?"

"YEAH!"

Sally scowled playfully. "Knock it off, or I'll make you stand in the hallway!"

Charmy chuckled, and Cream giggled.

Minutes later, and a small warp later, small dishes filled with small doses of white wine, each decorated with the flaming-skull-with-pointed-shades emblem of the Great Freedom Fighters, was passed around to each member of the Great Freedom Fighters as they stood outside a window overlooking Möbius.

"Still, you gotta wonder," Vector asked, "Just how far are we gonna go?"

"That's an easy question," Knuckles smirked.

They clinked their dishes together.

"As far as it takes!"

Then, as one, the Great Freedom Fighters faced Möbius, raised their glasses, and drained them in one gulp each.

One last toast to Möbius.

_シルバーの__自己処罰_

"Silver... he didn't overthrow you for power," Blaze explained. "The night you were arrested... he cried for hours..."

"I know, Blaze... I _know_ he was doing it because he _had _to..."

They'd reached Silver's office door.

It was locked.

Tails pounded on the door.

"Silver! Are you in there? _Silver!_"

There was no answer.

Tails pulled out his Core Drill.

"If _that's_ how you want it..."

_何__の罪だの？_

Silver sat in his office on the Hellship, in his own personal hell.

He'd not been with his father, Priest Aurum, before he died, and it killed him inside that he had not had a more meaningful final conversation with his father.

A year after the fall of Greengate, Silver had returned to Galahad Village. Apparently, after Sonic and Tails left, seeds and pollen of plants drifted down into the moistened soil at the edge of the lagoon of the Face God, and plantlife of all kinds of fruits flourished. The Rule of Fifty was abandoned, and many made for the surface on their own.

Unfortunately, Aurum had eaten some spoiled fruit, and he was very ill. Far iller, indeed, than he pretended.

_Maybe Father did not want me to worry_, Silver thought. _Maybe... he didn't want me to feel sad for him..._

"Father, I have crosschecked your holy book against every language in the history of Möbius," Silver had said.

"And...?" his father had replied.

Silver gave a rueful smile. "It cannot be read. It is full of nonsense characters that have not cropped up anywhere else in the history of typography."

Aurum then rested a weak hand on the book's front cover, lifting it slightly to view the front page. "Then... who _did_ write it? And why?"

"I cannot say, Father," Silver had said. "But... someone most likely was staging some elaborate practical joke."

At this, Aurum had actually _smiled_. "So, you mean, that I was preaching the gospel of God, all while carrying someone's practical joke in my hands?" He let out a weak, raspy laugh. "That's too rich!"

Aurum then descended into a fit of violent coughing.

"So, Father," Silver had asked, once Aurum had recovered, "Why did you impose the Rule of Fifty?"

Aurum had then affixed Silver with an intense gaze.

"I was once like that blue hedgehog. Very much so, Silver. I led my village - my old village, the father of Galahad Village, in essence: Lancelot Village - to the surface. And when we got there..."

"Gizoids were waiting," Silver had said, low.

Aurum only nodded. "I was the only survivor. I fled. I came upon an underground village called Kinesis. In order to atone for my sins, I took it upon myself to take over the administration. I renamed it to Galahad Village, and imposed my Rule of Fifty, to ensure the prosperity of those who lived there." Aurum's eyes darkened. "It was a horrid prospect at times, sending people to die on the surface, but if it helped our village survive, it was worth it as the price for my atonement."

Silver then excused himself to help in the construction of the New Capital.

He later learned that his father's condition had spiraled rapidly out of control, and that Aurum had died mere hours after he left.

He had born himself as best he could on the return to the nascent Sonic City, but he could not sleep for two weeks after that.

The tears would not leave him be.

_A long time ago, Galahad was so impoverished that it could not support a population greater than fifty people_, Silver thought. _Back then, survival was sacrifice. That was all there was to it. On the surface, a world existed for everyone to live, and no one to be sacrificed. That's what I told myself as I fought. I thought that I was beyond my roots as a Galahad Villager. I thought I was above sacrificing people for survival. But I was wrong... in the end, I nearly sacrificed more lives than anyone ever before._

Silver brought the gun up to his head.

_That sin must be atoned for._

The door banged.

"Silver! Are you in there? _Silver!_"

It was Tails.

Silver wanted dearly to pull the trigger and paint the walls with his own brains, but for some reason, his finger would not move.

The lock flashed green, and Tails threw the door open, Core Drill in hand. His eyes darted towards the gun, and his pupils contracted.

"_Silver!_" Tails cried.

Silver pointed the gun at Tails.

"Stay away!" he shouted, and to Tails he sounded insane. "I will atone for my own sin by my own hand. In the end, I was only dancing in the Anti-Spiral's palm. I walked right into their trap by sentencing you to death, and nearly sacrificing all of Möbius for nothing. I'm a _fool_ of epic proportions!"

"You idiot! What are you saying?"

Silver pointed the gun at his head again. "At least let me face death on my own terms."

"Silver..." Tails breathed.

Then, in an instant that left both Tails and Silver breathless, Blaze walked into the room with her fists balled up, and slapped Silver violently across the right cheek. Silver collapsed, his gun tumbling under his desk.

"What _sins_?" Blaze shrieked. "Everything you were doing, you were doing to try to save Möbiankind!" Tears began to spill down Blaze's face, hampering her ability to glare at Silver. "You ran yourself ragged trying to think of a way to save as many people as you could. I know that better than _anyone_! If you call that a sin, then no one in the _world_ is innocent."

At this point, words failed Blaze.

"Blaze..." Silver gasped.

Then she grabbed him by the front of his government suit.

Both Silver and Tails thought she would hit him again. She did, too, for a moment.

Then her lips crashed against his.

It was clumsy and awkward even among the ranks of first kisses, but it was good enough for them.

After ten seconds, they pulled apart.

Blaze, tears still streaming down her face, wrapped her arms gently around Silver's waist.

"You're so naïve," she sniffled.

Silver returned her embrace. "I'm sorry, Blaze."

Tails smiled at the new couple. "Good for you, Silver. You have someone who'll hit you if you make a mistake. I lost my way once. But someone was there to snap me out of it... by punching some sense into me."

A memory came to Tails's mind...

_Tails looked up in alarm, and saw Sonic plastered against Emerl's canopy, pulling his right arm back._

_"Open the canopy, Tails!" Sonic shouted._

_In his fright, Tails didn't need to be told twice._

_Sonic curled up his right hand into a fist._

_Tails's heart stopped._

_"Now, grit. Your. TEETH!"_

_And Sonic._

_Punched._

_Out._

_Tails._

"Everyone makes mistakes, Silver," Tails explained. "It's to be expected. But when you do, you should be hit by someone else. There's no need to punish _yourself_. If you do make a mistake, just keep kicking and screaming and fighting like hell, and you'll move forward a little bit." Tails smiled. "Well, that, and you gotta believe in the you who believes in yourself. That's the only way to fight absolute despair. At least, that's what I think." Tails held out a hand to Silver. "But Silver, you tried to do something I _never_ could have done. What's wrong with that?"

"Tails..."

"I believe in you, Silver. I believe you can look after Möbius while we're away. Just believe in yourself."

Silver slowly took Tails's hand.

"Now we can walk on the same path again. Right?"

Silver smiled at Tails and nodded.

Tails grinned widely. "Good. So, you won't have any problems with me slugging you one for locking me up?"

Silver's smile faded rapidly and he looked immediately repentant again.

Tails laughed.

"I was just joking, Silver! Loosen up."

Silver smiled weakly.

Blaze, wiping tears away, smiled warmly at Silver. "Silver, I would like temporary leave once we return."

"Leave? What kind?"

Blaze's smile went sly. "Maternity leave."

Silver looked flustered.

"Me and Marine will be looking after Meg's daughter while her and Elias are fighting the Anti-Spiral," Blaze explained once she'd finished laughing at Silver's reaction, tears of mirth leaking from her eyes now. "We promised her we would. Ms. Mongoose could fill in for me; Ash has been trying to catch her eye."

Silver nodded at his new girlfriend. "Of course, Blaze."

Silver's cell phone rang.

"Silver," he said, answering it. "What? But... where was it?"

"What's wrong?" Tails asked.

"Yes... I think they might need it. Send it up immediately. Me and Blaze will take the vessel back down to Möbius." He hung up.

"Who was that?" Tails asked.

"Ash," Silver said. "He oversaw the return of the refugees on the Blue Typhoon to their homes... or shelters, if their homes were in Sonic City. Apparently, they found something in the wreckage of Sonic City."

"What?"

"The Emerl that was in Huenlonix."

Tails's eyes widened.

_今は準備が必要なんだよ！！_

The Lucus Darkoak Head smiled at the Core Machine its former body had utilized in his personal Gizoid, as though reunited with an old friend thought deceased. "So it was only temporarily lost. This is fortunate for us. We now have two Core Machines on hand: your Emerl, and my G-Merl."

Rotor and Cobar were holding each other's hands.

"Be careful out there, Rotor," Cobar was saying.

"Who the hell do you think I am?" Rotor replied jocularly. "Look after Möbius, Cobar."

Cobar chuckled, before saying, "I love you."

"Love you, too," they said, sharing a brief kiss before Cobar left for his transport.

Rotor faced the Darkoak Head. "How goes the activation of the Spiral Realm Perceptual Teleportation System?"

"It will be online in roughly half an hour," replied the Darkoak Head.

"Good," Elias said. "So... how does this all work again?"

"The Spiral Warriors battled the Anti-Spiral Rebellion viciously about two-thousand years ago," said the Darkoak Head. "However, we were unable to locate their base of operations, and were summarily defeated. We could not find their homeworld, because no Anti-Spiral battleships returned there once they were dispatched to this dimension."

"Dimension?" Knuckles repeated.

"As we know now, the Anti-Spiral have eluded Super-Spiral sweeps for the past two-thousand years," explained the Darkoak Head, "By creating an imaginary oscillating time-space located between the membranes of the dimensional universes we refer to as the tenth and eleventh dimensions."

The Great Freedom Fighters - now standing on the bridge - whirled rapidly on Rotor, waiting for his laconic explanation.

But Rotor shrugged.

"_I_ can't make heads or tails of it, either, fellas," said Rotor, as an image appeared on the main screen. "But this is _definitely_ the Anti-Spiral homeworld."

A gold ring with a white, seed-shaped diamond set in it.

"Isn't that... Cosmo's ring that Tails gave her?" Knuckles asked.

"But why?" Elias asked.

"What we call the universe is constructed on ambiguity," the Darkoak Head explained. "It only becomes a fixed reality when observed. That is a fundamental law of the universe. Even in a pocket dimension, an object that has been observed at one time can be picked up on a Spiral scan."

Once more, the Great Freedom Fighters rounded on Rotor for an explanation. All this big talk was downright terrifying.

"This isn't like you people," Shadow said, smirking. "Who _cares_ about the explanation? We know where the enemy is, so we're going there!"

"That's right!" Rotor said brightly. "It basically sounds like you can go somewhere if you know something you had once is there!"

"With a fixed set of perceptual dimensional coordinates," the Darkoak Head continued, "Instantaneous teleportation is possible. That is how the Spiral Realm Perceptual Teleportation System works."

"So, basically, if you think of someone, fighting spirit sends you flying into their arms!" Rotor said.

The Great Freedom Fighters made noises of comprehension and assent.

"We should also assume the enemy has warp capability, too," Elias said darkly.

"Good point," Rotor noted.

"Which means that we should act as soon as the System is online!" Elias smirked.

"We know where the enemy stronghold is, so we're gonna smash it," Sally added, a smirk of her own that was identical to her brother's. "It's worked for us so far. Right?"

"YEAH!" everyone cheered.

The Darkoak Head said, "It is nearly time."

"Alright, then," Elias turned to Helen. "Fire the Dimensional Anchors at the predetermined point!"

"Roger!" Helen said, pushing a few icons on her screen.

A pair of drills fired out from behind the Hellship. They vanished into holes in space, trails of green Spiral Power connecting them to the Möbius Spiral Flagship.

"Dimensional Anchors have penetrated imaginary space," Helen said. "They have latched onto the Moon."

"Elias! Give the word!" Rotor called out.

"Engine output, 50%. All ahead slow," Elias ordered.

"Engine output, 50%. All ahead slow," repeated Ari, setting the engine to stated speed.

Green light poured from the Hellship's engines, and gradually, a gray orb of rock was pulled out from the alternate dimension.

An enormous gray orb of rock.

One which bore enormous dark-gray seas of long-dried lava.

One which, for some odd reason, bore a large scorch mark across it.

This must have been where Tails punched the final Zoah.

"Whoa, something really came out!" Bean squawked.

"So, that's the real Moon, huh?" Elias wondered.

"This way," Rotor explained, "The Hellship can leave Möbian orbit without worrying about affecting it."

Knuckles and Sally stood side-by-side.

"You know, anything could happen right now - anything _at all_ - and I wouldn't be surprised," Sally said.

"Me, neither."

_お前の__ＸＸＸ__で天を衝け！！_

"Sorry about this," Tails said as Silver & Blaze entered the last ship back to Möbius. "I know it's a big job I left you."

"You can count on us," Silver replied. "Even if you don't come back, I will make sure that Möbius and Möbiankind survive." Silver smirked. "We'll kick and scream and fight like hell."

Tails gave a brief chuckle. "Yeah. I'm counting on you, Silver."

"I'll be able to do it. I believe in you _and _in myself."

Moments later, after their final farewells, Silver & Blaze met Marine, carrying Alexis, at a window looking back at the Hellship. Marine passed the baby to Blaze. She looked very bitter.

"They're leaving me behind again," Marine growled, before taking a very deep breath.

Silver & Blaze only had a moment to understand what Marine was doing.

Marine cupped her hands over her mouth.

"OY, MATES!" she shouted after the Hellship at the top of her lungs. "MAKE SURE YOU COME BACK SAFE, A'IGHT?"

Alexis started crying.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Marine squeaked.

On board the Hellship, Tails reached the No. 1 Bridge. For a brief moment, he looked out of the bridge's transparent canopy to Möbius, and said in such a low voice that only his own sensitive fox ears could have picked it up:

"I'll be back, Sonic."

Then strode to the head of the bridge.

"Sorry I'm late, guys," he said brightly. "Silver's doing just fine."

"You're just in time, actually, Tails," replied Rotor.

"Spiral Monitor, activated," Helen said.

"Spiral Realm Perceptual Teleportation System, dimensional coordinates verified," Chris said.

"Tails, that's your cue," Rotor said. "Focus your perception on Cosmo."

Tails closed his eyes, a pensive look appearing on his face.

A hazy image of a ring appeared on screen.

"I still don't really believe it..." Charmy mused to Cream, just low enough so that only she could hear. "Can we really just _warp _there? I mean, Cosmo's really far away. How can we get there with just Tails's memory of a ring?"

"All that talk goes over _my_ head as well," she whispered back, "But I can understand it if I think about it as Mister Tails & Miss Cosmo being connected by feelings that transcend time and space."

Charmy turned it over in his head...

And it still made no sense.

Honestly, the things girls think of.

"Maybe you're right," he told her.

The image of Cosmo's ring became sharp and crystal-clear.

"I have confirmation," the Lucus Darkoak said. "Coordinates locked."

"Tails, we're all set and ready to jump at any time!" Rotor said.

Tails opened his eyes...

And grinned.

"Alright!" he said. "Super Galaxy Great Freedom, prepare for launch!"

"Super Galaxy Great Freedom?" the bridge echoed.

"Yeah," Tails said simply. "She's the Super Galaxy Great Freedom."

"It works for you people," Shadow said, a half-grin on his face. "Certainly a better fit for the Möbian races than 'Hellship'."

Tails nodded. "You got that right."

He turned his eyes to the blackness of space, his expression going stern.

"Listen up, everyone!" Tails said, his voice resonating throughout the Super Galaxy Great Freedom. "We're gonna be warping to the Anti-Spiral homeworld, Avalon, in just a few minutes. I don't know what's gonna be waiting for us when we get there, but no matter what happens, we can't afford to lose. We have to protect our Möbius. That's why every one of you on this ship right now are officially members of the Great Freedom Fighters! And I'll make sure _every single one of you_ comes back to Möbius alive!"

And Tails did a brief Great Freedom Fighters roll call.

"Knuckles..." Knuckles gave a thumbs-up.

"Rotor..." Rotor nodded.

"Elias..." Elias nodded.

"Meg..." Meg nodded, a slight frown on her face.

"Vector, Mighty, Espio..." Vector rubbed his nose, Mighty waved vaguely, and Espio nodded.

"Big, Bark, Lobo..." Big waved, Bark nodded, and Lobo folded his arms.

"Chris, Ari, Bean..." Chris smiled faintly, Ari nodded, and Bean flapped about energetically.

"Charmy, Cream..." Charmy did a mid-air loop-the-loop, and Cream bowed slightly.

"Frances..." Frances rested her hands in her pockets.

"Shade..." Shade nodded curtly.

"Molly..." Molly rested her hands behind her head.

"Amy..." A pink hedgehog girl smiled and winked.

"Tommy..." A turtle smiled and nodded.

"Ray..." A yellow flying squirrel grinned slightly.

"Antoine..." A coyote nodded curtly.

"Shahra..." A pink-haired human girl smiled brightly.

"Chip..." A small red-furred critter gave the peace sign.

"Griff..." A goat man crossed his arms and nodded.

"Shorty..." A squirrel nodded.

"Julie-Su..." A pink echidna girl, metal rings around one of her dreadlocks, nodded.

"Helen..." Helen raised a hand from her wheelchair.

"Lupe..." Lupe nodded from the computer terminal showing the Super Spiral Engine (which consisted of Typhoon Freedom Emerl, a Giga Drill from each limb).

"Sally..." Sally nodded.

"Shadow..." Shadow crossed his arms and nodded.

"Lucus..." The Darkoak Head closed its eyes and nodded.

"And Kukku..." Kukku flitted around over Tails's head and squeaked 'chao!'.

"As long as the Great Freedom Fighters stand united," Tails finished, "we have nothing to fear, because we will _never_ be defeated!"

It was time.

"Engines at full!" called out Ari.

"Spiral Realm Perceptual Teleportation System, activated," said the Lucus Darkoak Head.

"Alright!" Tails grinned. "Let's go, this is the final battle!"

And so, less than twelve hours after the Hell Huenlonix had been deactivated, the newly christened Super Galaxy Great Freedom vanished in a flash of green light as bright as the sun...

Departing to do battle with the Anti-Spiral.

**つづく  
To be continued...**

**

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**

次回予告  
Next Episode Preview

Even if an infinite number of enemies will appear, we indomitable outlaws will absolutely never give way!

Next time on _Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl_: _**"I Will Never Forget This Minute, This **_**Second**_**"**_.

[**9-4-10 UPDATE:** I added in the other nine Star Emeraloid pilots to Tails's last-minute roll-call.]


	31. Chapter 30

_(Chapter Thirty. Did you know that the surface area of the Earth is roughly 500 trillion square meters? And if overpopulation doesn't stop, by 2970 there will be one person per square meter on the Earth's surface?_

_Just thought you'd like to know. Enjoy!)_

_

* * *

_

"This is the tale of a man who blows a hole in the destiny of a universe torn by the endless cycle of violence.

"At last, the location of the Anti-Spiral home planet, Avalon, has been discovered.

"The engagement ring given by Tails to Cosmo was taken there and picked up on their Spiral scan.

"Indeed, if they travel there, he will see Cosmo again.

"To save the woman he loves, so save his and his friends' homeworld, Möbius, and to put an end to the conflict once and for all, the Super Galaxy Great Freedom sets sail, with Tails on board."

**CHAPTER THIRTY:  
I Will Never Forget This Minute, This **_**Second**_

Lifeless.

That word was the closest any language could get to describing the Anti-Spiral dimension. An empty universe with no life on any of the worlds floating aimlessly about the stars, the galaxies as large as the one in which Möbius, the smallest of blue marbles, whirled. The Anti-Spiral's artificial universe rested between the tenth and eleventh dimensions of human perception, which are so far removed from human perception as to be utterly unfathomable and completely beyond the concept of rational minds

It remained silent and undisturbed...

Until a large golden battleship the size of Möbius's moon penetrated through a portal that was not there and emerged into the oppressive blackness of artificial space.

**超時空要塞  
超銀河****グレイトフリーダム  
Super Dimensional Fortress  
Super Galaxy Great Freedom**

"What the...?" Knuckles muttered. "We're there _already_?"

"_This _is the enemy's stronghold?" Sally asked. It seemed sort of... empty. There _were_ a few planets floating a few million miles away, visible as pinpricks of bluish-green light, and nebulae were visible in the light of the stars in all directions, but all in all, this dimension seemed remarkably stale and... _dead_.

In additon, there was a pervasive feeling of unease, as though they had set foot in a world where they were far from welcome, as though by showing up at all, their lives were forfeit.

"What the _quack_? There's a giant naked woman floating out in space behind us!" Bean squawked.

Elias chuckled, "You dummy, what are you tal—"

But when an image of the rear-view was brought up on the main screen, Bean's statement was verified.

A large, nude woman in a crucifix pose was floating behind the Super Galaxy Great Freedom, her head hung. She could easily have held Möbius as though it were a volley ball. She was slightly translucent, and large sections of her body were pixelating, the clouds of pixelation sweeping up and down her body as though searching for something.

She had green hair...

And roses on her head...

"_Cosmo!_" Tails shouted, the Super Galaxy Great Freedom spinning around to face Cosmo.

She looked up to face them, and though her sky-colored gaze was steady, there was a shadow of pain behind her eyes.

She smiled all the same.

"You came for me!" she said.

"Of course," Tails smiled back. "I promised you."

"I knew... you would keep your word."

"Hang in there, Cosmo. I'll rescue you soon."

"So..." Knuckles asked Rotor. "Is that the_ real_ Cosmo or what?"

"I don't see how," Rotor replied. "More likely, it's a holographic projection."

Cosmo's expression was now fearful.

"Be careful, Tails," she warned. "The Anti-Spiral are more powerful than you think."

"Don't worry," Tails grinned, putting out a fist. "We'll win, no matter what! And then, we'll all go back to Möbius together."

Cosmo's smile returned...

Then her image flickered with static, and she screamed and did not stop for a long time. The clouds of pixels raced even more fervently across Cosmo's body.

"COSMO!" Tails screamed.

"What's happening to her?" Sally asked, her eyes shining with horror.

"Her body is being analyzed," the Lucus Darkoak Head said.

"Analyzed?" Meg asked.

"Cosmo was born on Möbius, and grew up amongst Möbians," the bio-computer explained. "Knowledge regarding Möbiankind is stored within her body." The Darkoak Head's eyes narrowed. "Still... Why _now_? What need do they have to analyze this information so soon?"

"But... if that's a projection, where's the _real_ Cosmo?" Sally asked.

"We'll jump again," Tails said simply. "And this time, we'll go to where the _real _Cosmo is being held!"

Tails closed his eyes tightly, focusing his thoughts on Cosmo, calling forward very specific details about her to focus on.

The Super Galaxy Great Freedom vanished into a portal of invisible light...

And emerged into empty space again.

They brought up a visual of the rear view.

There was Cosmo.

"What the _hell_?" Knuckles yelled. "It's the same as last time!"

"I see," said the Lucus Darkoak. "That hologram of Cosmo is projecting a dummy perceptual wavelength, actively interfering with our jumps."

Tails growled, "Goddamn it! One more time! With _spirit_!"

And just as Tails closed his eyes...

Just as he began to draw out the energy of the universe from every cell in his body...

_**foolish people of the spiral... tell me: why does a flower bloom, when it is destined to wither? its beauty is so short-lived...**_

Tails gasped, his eyes flying open.

"What was _that_?" he asked, looking wildly around.

"The Anti-Spiral," snarled the Darkoak Head.

"Anti-Spiral..." Meg growled, her fists balling up.

"That voice is _th__e__m_? The Anti-Spiral...?" Tails wondered aloud. It didn't sound anything like he thought the Anti-Spiral would sound like. He didn't know what he could have expected.

It began with a whisper. Just a single whisper. It sounded vaguely like a young girl from Mercia.

But the voice which whispered was not alone in the cosmos. A cascade of countless whispers, barely above silence, but still slightly fainter than the girl's voice, a chorus of the voices of the young and old, the male and female, all speaking in the same cadence and rhythm, blending into and out of each other, alongside the girl's voice.

Five-hundred trillion voices, speaking as one that threatened to make their mere mortal ears bleed from just hearing it.

"Wh-where's that voice coming from?" Rotor asked.

"It's... coming from every direction at once!" replied Helen shakily, a hand still over one ear.

"How is that possible...?" Elias asked.

"This is a malleable universe," the Darkoak Head explained. "They can manipulate it according to their every whim. Therefore... it is no exaggeration to say that our enemy... is the _universe itself_."

"The... universe... _itself_?"

_**you cling to the faintest sliver of hope**_, the Anti-Spiral continued, _**climbing up time and again from the precipice of despair. what foolishness... but that is now at an end. your last ember of hope will fade when this irregular is deleted.**_

The Darkoak Head growled. "If they delete Cosmo, it will no longer be possible to track their homeworld."

"No way are we gonna let you do that!" Tails shouted to the heavens. "You hear me, _Anti-Spiral_?"

"ANTI-SPIRAL!" bellowed Meg, pointing a finger up at the stars, her tail swishing angrily. "You're gonna _pay_ for trying to murder my little girl!"

_**ahh, so you are a new mother**_, said the Anti-Spiral, the girl's voice sounding intrigued. Meg quelled slightly upon being addressed directly by the eye of the Anti-Spiral, but she held her ground. _**how heartless of you, leaving your child behind.**_

"I don't need to get that from you of all... well, of all people, when you were the ones who tried to have Alexis killed!"

_**we do not particularly care for the life of your... alexis.**_

"SHUT UP!" Meg shrieked. "Don't you dare say her name!" She raised her voice even more, if possible. "WE'RE DONE TALKING!"

_**yes... **_said the Anti-Spiral, menace tinting her tone now. _**we are.**_

And then...

_**ifaras zaras yezaras...**_

_**ifaris zaris yezarik...**_

A dark tear, darker than the blackness between stars, opened up before the Super Galaxy Great Freedom, opposite Cosmo.

And another opened up beside the first.

And from each tear in reality...

They were huge, impossibly large. Two behemoths, each one of which could easily span the distance between Möbius and its sun. The planets in the distance winked out of existence as the Anti-Spiral warships descended to meet the Super Galaxy Great Freedom.

Two dragons.

One of blue metal, wings spread wide, a crystal blossoming from its nose...

And one of red metal, its wingless back crested with large, fire-colored stones...

_**behold**_, said the Anti-Spiral, her voice murder in outer space. _**and so learn. these dragons, myst and slayer, are your absolute despair made manifest.**_

"We don't know the _meaning_ of the word 'despair'!" Tails shouted back, turning to Bean. "Bean, fire all Spiral Lasers!"

"You got it!" Bean shouted, slamming his fists into every button he could reach.

The space outside was filled with scores of yellow double-helical lasers, any one of which would have reduced Möbius to dust.

Ten seconds later, the flicker of pixelated shields appeared somewhere around Myst's nose.

"What was _that_?" Sally asked.

"An energy shield," Rotor said. "Like the Zoah had, or even _more_ powerful. I doubt even Typhoon Giga Drill Driver would have any effect on it."

Helen's station went berserk. She went white. "Activity detected from the enemy ships! They're launching a huge number of them! Exact number is..." Helen's brow glistened with fear. "Off the charts!"

"Whoa, will ya look at that!" Vector said. "Enemies as far as the eye can see!"

"Star Gizoid and Star Emeraloid Brigades, move out!" Elias shouted.

Meg was the first to the teleporters to the hangar, calling back a quick _Be safe_ to her husband and not waiting for him to mirror her reply.

"So, what should we do?" Tails asked. "If Typhoon Freedom Emerl can't stop those dragons, what can me and Shadow do?"

"Well, I don't know about Shadow," Rotor said brightly, "But I know where you can get an even more powerful drill than Typhoon Freedom Emerl!"

On his computer screen was an image of the Hell Huenlonix from that Steadicam video he'd shown just hours before. Its shoulder drills could easily have punched a hole through Möbius.

Its shoulder drills.

Tails could have kissed Rotor.

"Way to go, Rote! But... can we do it?"

"The humanoid form is the one in which Spiral Power is channeled most powerfully," the Darkoak Head explained. "If we were to transform Super Galaxy Great Freedom into humanoid mode, our Spiral Power would be amplified tens of times over, becoming a being with power rivaling that of a micro cosmos."

Tails grinned. "In other words... Super Galaxy Freedom Emerl?"

"It is not that simple," said the Darkoak Head with a shadow of testiness. "In order to transform a vessel the size of a natural satellite, it is necessary to channel similarly vast quantities of Spiral Power directly into the main engine. At the present time and space, the only person possessing sufficient Spiral Power is..."

Tails nodded. "Me."

The Darkoak Head nodded as well.

Sally's face appeared on the main monitor.

"Looks like we don't have many other options," she said.

"Yeah," Knuckles said, his face appearing beside Sally's. "Tails, leave it to us to hold the Anti-Spiral mechas back, and you transform the Super Galaxy Great Freedom ASAP."

"But... will you guys be alright without Typhoon Freedom Emerl?" Tails asked.

Knuckles gave a cocky grin. "Who the hell do you think we are?"

Vector appeared over Sally's face. "We wanna do a bit of grandstanding ourselves, you know."

Espio appeared over Knuckles. "We'll buy you the time you need."

Mighty appeared over Vector, grinning. "But you'll owe us for this, Tails."

Big appeared over Espio, and Bark over Mighty.

"Yeah. You'll owe us," Big said.

"Yeah! You'll repay us soon!" Bark grinned.

Tails chuckled, walking to the Ultra-Spiral Plant teleporter. "I'll be right with you guys... with a huge drill."

But behind his grin, Tails was eaten alive with fear.

_Why do I have a bad feeling about this?_ he thought. _What's this vibe I'm getting?_

_The Blue monday e"r"ectrical parade_

"I'm counting on you, honey," said Lupe, giving Lobo a quick peck before he stepped into O'Donnell, then stepping O'Donnell into Star O'Donnell.

As each Fremerald stepped into its designated Star Emeraloid, the identical, city-sized Huenlonix mass production models underwent changes:

Their triangular eyes and capes took on the hue of their piloting Fremerald.

Star Buzz Buzz - piloted by Charmy - changed to orange.

Star Cheese - piloted by Cream - changed to cream.

Star Cascade - piloted by Molly - changed to sea-blue.

Star Nocturne - piloted by Shade - changed to purple.

Star Twister - piloted by Frances - turned to a dark pink.

Star Thorn - piloted by one Amy Rose - turned a brighter pink.

Star Megatal - piloted by Shorty - turned blood-red.

Star Gaia - piloted by Chip - turned pure-white.

Star Rocky - piloted by Ray - turned yellow.

Star Adam - piloted by Tommy - turned green.

Star Depardieu - piloted by Antoine - turned royal-blue.

Star Djinn - piloted by Shahra - turned lavendar.

Star Dimitri - piloted by Julie-Su - turned dull-green.

Star Schlatter - piloted by Griff - turned brown.

Less than a minute after Tails left to charge the Super Galaxy Great Freedom into the Super Galaxy Freedom Emerl, the Star Gizoids and Star Emeraloids flew out of a miniscule (comparatively speaking) hatch in the Super Galaxy Great Freedom's prow. The Star Emeraloids would serve as the rear guard, the last line of defense behind the Star Gizoids.

"Okay, crackheads!" Knuckles called out. "One last brawl! I don't wanna see _any_ of you holding back!"

Sally appeared in his eye.

"Of course we won't," she replied with a smile. "I have kids waiting for me back home, so I'm gonna go give it everything I've got."

"Yeah..." Knuckles did a double-take. "Wait! K-kids! Hey... Wh-when the hell did you have _kids_?"

Sally winked. "A lady has to have a few secrets."

"S-secrets?"

Knuckles was so stunned - _who the hell is the dad?_ he thought - that he barely registered Helen broadcasting on an open channel,

"Contact with enemy formation in ten seconds!"

Knuckles composed himself.

"R-right!"

The Anti-Spiral mechas were some of the most unusual that they had ever seen. Some of them resembled fish wearing knight's helmets; some resembled spiders with armored head and legs and glowing translucent bellies; and some even resembled snakes with a set of lipless jaws instead of heads.

"Let's go!" shouted Charmy.

The Star Emeraloid Brigade produced their polearms, green energy tearing from fourteen blades into the Anti-Spiral units.

Explosions tore through the enemy units.

The knight's helmets of the Kish and Arasen units opened up, revealing single staring eyes in each face.

Red energy blasted from these eyes.

Very slow red energy.

Every Star Emeraloid and Star Gizoid dodged easily.

But as the opposing forces closed in on each other, it became harder to dodge.

And then...

"We lost Shorty! And _Chip_!" Cream cried out, horrified as Star Megatal and Star Gaia vanished in plooms of flame that extinguished quickly in the vacuum of space.

"Don't show them any mercy, Fremerald Squadron!" Charmy shouted.

"Because we won't _get_ any!" replied Tommy from his Star Adam, slicing a Kish in half with ease.

Star O'Donnell fired energy blasts from its shoulder blasters.

Star Double Bruiser sent blue lasers firing from its palms.

Star Espionaj, engaging its space camouflage, fired its main cannon, tearing through a score of Anti-Spiral robots.

Star Mighty Fists fired its quadruple Spiral Chainguns.

Star Vector Prime fired off the Spiral Cannons in its fingertips.

"There's a ton of these guys, but they're not so tough!" Vector scoffed.

"We'll just keep whittling them down," Sally said, Star Acorn Cannon going back to back with Star Alexistriker. "Just focus on keeping them off of the Super Galaxy Great Freedom!"

"You don't have to tell me twice!" shouted Meg, forcing her Star Gizoid away from her sister-in-law's, set on tearing every Anti-Spiral mecha limb from limb.

Star King Knuckles drew back its spear, the tip glowing blue.

"Time for the Great Freedom Fighters to take center stage! **STAR SUNBEAM!**" Knuckles bellowed, the point of light becoming a beam which sliced enemy mechas into fiery pieces.

Charmy cursed.

"They're having all the fun!" he whined, spinning his Star Buzz Buzz's Helix Polearm and blasting some Anti-Spiral mechas.

"Charmy!" snapped Cream, her face appearing on one of Star Buzz Buzz's screens. "You're drifting too far into the enemy cloud. The Star Emeraloids are supposed to be the _last _line of defense!"

"But rear guard duty _sucks_!"

"Maybe, but we must follow our orders."

_狼が来た！！_

"Enemy battleships Myst and Slayer have begun to move," Helen said, looking pale. "They are advancing on us."

"It worries me a little," Elias said, "That those big things haven't attacked us yet."

"They might be part of some kind of trap, wouldn't you say?" Rotor pondered aloud.

"Pull back!" Elias ordered Ari. "For now, maintain a constant distance, and concentrate on charging up our Spiral Power."

**超銀河グレイトフリーダム内・超絶螺旋機関  
Inside Super Galaxy Great Freedom - Ultra Spiral Power Plant**

Typhoon Freedom Emerl, a Typhoon Giga Drill sprouted from each limb, spun its Spiral Power into the Super Spiral Engine below.

**タイフーンフリーダムエメル内・超絶螺旋機関  
Inside Typhoon Freedom Emerl - Ultra Spiral Power Plant**

Freedom Emerl, a Giga Drill emerging from each limb, sent its Spiral Power straight from Emerl to the surrounding vessel that was once the Blue Typhoon. The Spiral Power was channeled from Emerl, which magnified the Spiral Power of the pilot, which was already prodigious on its own.

**フリーダムエメル内・超絶螺旋機関（テイルス）  
Inside Freedom Emerl - Ultra Spiral Power Plant (Tails)**

In Emerl, Tails channeled the Spiral Power, the energy of the universe, out of every cell into his body.

"Lupe, how much longer?" Tails said, clasping the controls to Emerl tightly, Kukku sitting somewhere between his feet. Every monitor showed a Spiral Power gauge filling up very slowly.

"Transformation will be possible with another 48%," said Lupe's voice from the screen reading 'LUPE - SOUND ONLY'. "Another ten minutes or so. I'll make sure everything is ready on this end before then."

_They don't _have_ ten minutes out there! _Tails thought frantically.

"Understood," he said, his voice quavering with something... was it fear? Anger? Frustration?

"Keep your cool, fox boy," said Shadow from Freedom, seeming to sense Tails's true mood. "But even I can tell that your Spiral Power is off the charts. You're one impressive specimen."

_Still,_ Tails thought, _what's this bad vibe? Is it because... Knothole villagers are out there?_

_

* * *

_

_"What? You three were _really_ in Knothole Village?" Tails asked the turtle, yellow squirrel, and pink girl hedgehog._

_"You bet, Tails!" said the turtle. "Name's Tommy. Tommy Turtle."_

_"I'm R-Ray," said the squirrel. That stutter seemed somewhat familiar..._

_"My name is Amy Rose!" squealed the girl hedgehog. She seemed rather bubbly. "I tried warning you about that big robot when Sonic and you had it down for a bit!"_

_"It was gonna bite down on us, right?" Tails asked._

_Amy nodded._

_Tails faced Ray and Tommy. "And what about you two?"_

_"Remember the pig-mole stampede?" asked Ray._

_Tails nearly smacked his own forehead._

_"Oh _yeah_! You guys were two of Sonic's first Freedom Fighters!" He shook their hands each in turn. "Welcome aboard! Or... should I say, welcome_ back_!"_

_Ray and Tommy smiled, looking back with Amy down the swirling vortex of the teleportation from the third dimension to the Anti-Spiral dimension._

_"So, Sonic was right, huh?" Tommy said. "About the surface."_

_Tails nodded._

_"But there were some things he _couldn't _have known about, like that this Moon was a giant Gizoid. But he was right about one thing the Moon:"_

_Amy, Ray, Tommy gave Tails inquisitive looks._

_"We made it there one day," he grinned. "Now, we're gonna take the Moon to the other end of the universe!"_

_Amy shook Tails's hand one more time, and Ray and Tommy gave Tails a double fist-bump, and the three Fremerald pilots returned to the Star Gizoid and Star Emeraloid Hangar._

_

* * *

_

_That _has _to be it_, Tails thought. _It's because _they're_ out there. They rejoined the Freedom Fighters after so long, to take part in the final battle. And Amy... I didn't know her back in Knothole, but she's practically family for following after me for so long._

Though he had not been great friends with Ray or Tommy, the fact of the matter was that they were technically senior members of the Great Freedom Fighters; he himself was the only person who outlasted them as members.

And Amy... she was never a Freedom Fighter, but from what he'd heard from her conversations with her fellow Fremerald pilots, she had idolized Sonic after the War For The Surface.

_Please come back alive, guys_, Tails thought.

Meaning everyone.

They had already lost two.

Tails prayed that, when the Anti-Spiral were defeated, that they would _only_ have lost two in this battle.

_Please come back alive..._

_お前ら全員燃えてしまえっ！！！_

"**TRIPLE-SPEED SAW LEG!**" bellowed Knuckles, sweeping his Star King Knuckles's chainsaw-equipped legs about. Saw-shaped blades of Knuckles's Spiral Power sliced through scores of Kishes and Arasens and Wutthuhs.

"Knuckles! Hey, _Knuckles_!" Sally said in Knuckles's eye.

Knuckles paused.

"Yeah, what's up, Sal?" he asked.

Sally looked mildly disturbed.

"Doesn't this seem too easy?" she asked. "These Anti-Spiral mechas are just too _weak_!"

"Aww, c'mon, loosen up, Sal!" Knuckles grinned the Sonic Grin. "That just means that _we're_ too bad-ass for 'em!"

Charmy's Helix Polearm flashed green, and an Arasen vanished in a flare of orange light.

"And _that's_ number one-hundred-and-eight!" Charmy grinned.

_Buzz-buzz-BUZZ_

"What the...? _Form up?_" he wondered.

Cream appeared in his eye.

"Charmy, that's the rally signal," she said. "Mister Tails has to be almost done charging up Spiral Power. We must return to the Great Freedom now."

From his Star Vector Prime, Vector groaned, "Form up? Damn it... Just when things were getting good..."

And the Star Gizoids and Star Emeraloids turned back to the Super Galaxy Great Freedom.

And a change came over the Anti-Spiral mechas.

Quick as a flash, an Arasen launched out from the cluster and clenched Star Vector Prime in its six spindly legs. Try as he might, Vector could not break it off.

"You little..." Vector growled.

A Kish descended in front of him.

Vector blasted at it.

It dodged. Too quickly.

"What the...?"

Meanwhile, a pair of Kishes had clamped their jaws on either side of Star Depardieu. An Arasen shot down and drove all six of its legs through the Fremerald inside, Antoine sending off a cry of _Mon Dieu!_ before the end.

"What the hell? The enemy robots got really fast all of a sudden!" Knuckles growled, shell-shocked.

"They were faking it!" Mighty called out.

Star Dimitri and Star Rocky blasted desperately at a swarm of incoming Kishes and Arasens, but the Anti-Spiral mechas were too fast.

Star Dimitri and Star Rocky were reduced to smoldering husks...

And Tails gasped. Ray was gone.

Star Twister, piloted by Frances, was faced with a Wutthuh, one of the snake-jaw hybrid mechas.

"W-what the...?" she said (which, incidentally, was how its name was pronounced), as the Wutthuh opened its jaws...

And a second, smaller set of jaws within opened to swallow Star Twister whole.

Star Twister's arms and legs began to buckle trying to keep those jaws open.

Knuckles's mouth dropped as he watched Star Djinn and Star Schlatter were ripped apart by a horde of Kishes.

"The Star Emeraloids are in trouble!" he shouted. "We gotta get out there and help them and then get back to the Super Galaxy Great Freedom, guys!"

"Knuckles!" Espio appeared in Knuckles's eye. "Vector's in trouble. Me and Mighty are going to go help him."

Molly appeared beside Espio. "Frances is in a pinch! I'm rescuing her!"

"YOU DUMBASSES! Didn't you hear me? We're supposed to fall back!"

Mighty replaced Espio. He looked furious. "So you want us to abandon him?"

"Yeah!" added Molly.

Knuckles gritted his teeth.

"Got it. I'll go with you!"

"Knuckles!" cried Sally.

Espio appeared beside Mighty, opposite Molly. "No. This is _our_ job. You make sure everyone gets back safe."

His screen winked out.

"I'm going," said Molly shortly, her screen winking out.

"We're leaving it to you," Mighty said. "See ya!" His screen winked out.

Knuckles growled, "Damn it, you guys better come back alive, or I'm gonna _kick your ass_!"

He faced his Star King Knuckles towards the brigade around him.

"Sally! Lobo! Big, Bark! We'll cover the Star Emeraloids, got it?"

The Arasen that had bound Star Vector Prime had split one of its legs into five spindly fingers, wrapping it around one of Star Vector Prime's arms.

"Damn it! Let... go of me!" Vector shouted, trying to blast the Arasen off, futilely.

Star Vector Prime's right arm was torn out.

"SON OF A BITCH!" Vector bellowed, sympathetic pain shooting down his right arm.

Star Mighty Fists and Star Espionaj collided with the Arasen with the force of an asteroid, knocking it loose.

A barrage from four Spiral Chainguns and an Ultra-Spiral Cannon later, and the Arasen was space dust.

Vector sighed. "Thanks, guys. I thought I was toast there. It took out my ejection system and everything."

Star Vector Prime was missing its right arm - which was destroyed along with the Arasen - and its armor had buckled severely in several places.

Mighty smiled in relief. "Let's head back, guys."

Vector and Espio nodded.

Meanwhile, Star Twister's arms and legs were only seconds away from total collapse in the Wutthuh's jaws.

Star Adam's Helix Polearm and Star Thorn's Helix Hammer were shoved into the space on Frances's either side, saving her.

"Amy! Tommy!" she cried joyfully.

"Let's go!" Amy said, pulling Star Twister out and carrying it under her arm.

"We Fremerald pilots look after each other," Tommy said, flying out of the jaws of the Wutthuh.

"GUYS! LOOK OUT!" screamed Molly over her comm channel.

The Wutthuh's outer jaw was closing rapidly.

But it was too late.

Frances, Amy, and Tommy were all crushed by the Wutthuh's giant teeth.

Molly's eyes burned.

"No..." A fire lit in her heart. "YOU BASTARDS!"

She grabbed Star Adam's lost Spiral Polearm and tore into the Wutthuh with hers and Tommy's. It was taken out in short order, but that was not enough for Molly's bloodlust. She departed to destroy other Anti-Spiral mechas.

Meanwhile...

In Emerl, Tails was in shock. Everyone from the Fremerald Squadron who hailed from Knothole was dead now. After he'd promised to keep them all safe.

There was only one thing to do:

Keep up the Spiral Power charging, and transform as soon as possible.

On the bridge...

"Multiple high-temp thermal signatures have been launched from the enemy battleships!" Helen called out. "Predicted target: this vessel!"

"How many!" Elias asked.

"Thirteen!"

"Lucus," Rotor asked, "Does this vessel have interceptor missiles?"

"Of course."

"Bean!" Elias ordered.

"Got it!" Bean slammed the buttons. "All missiles, _fire_!"

The Super Galaxy Great Freedom launched a cloud of missiles from hidden silos.

"Cream!" Sally shouted from her Star Acorn Cannon. "We're gonna take out anything that gets through the flak curtain!"

"Roger!" said Cream.

"Thermal signatures now making contact with interceptor missiles!" Helen shouted.

There was a flash of fire between the Super Galaxy Great Freedom, and several missiles emerged from it.

"How many did we get?" asked Elias.

"Half of them! Six are left!" Helen replied.

"Leave the rest to us!" said Sally on the main screen.

Star Acorn Cannon took out two at once with its double cannons.

"Four left!" Sally called out.

A blast of energy from Star Cheese's Spiral Polearm tore through a third missile.

Star Acorn Cannon fired with its double cannons again.

One left now.

A blast from above took it out.

It was Star Alexistriker.

"Save some for me, Sal!" smiled Meg.

Even in battle mood, she could keep her eyes on her friends and family.

Star Acorn Cannon gave a thumbs-up.

"Giant missile reading detected coming through a warp gate on the starboard stern!" Helen broadcast out.

Indeed, a missile that was easily ten times as large as Typhoon Giga Drill Driver was emerging from a warp gate that was practically _right next to the Super Galaxy Great Freedom_

"ELIAS!" cried out Meg, diving towards the missile - "MEG! NO!" screamed Sally - every hidden missile compartment on Star Alexistriker opening up and unleashing a volley on the missile.

It detonated, and the shockwave sent Star Alexistriker on a collision course with Super Galaxy Great Freedom's hull.

Star King Knuckles dived in and caught it.

"Hey, Meg! I know you got spirit, but don't get impatient!" he said to her. "Keep a cool head in battle!"

"Second missile inbound!" called out Helen.

Directly behind the first missile.

Star Cheese dived towards it.

"Cream, _no_!" Charmy cried. "You're getting too close!"

"But I _have_ to take it out!" Cream replied, firing a blast from her Spiral Polearm.

The missile exploded violently, and Cream screamed as her Star Cheese was consumed by the flames, and then her screams over the comm channel were scrambled by static...

And cut off.

"CREAM!" Charmy screamed. She was practically a sister to him since Galahad Village, and now...

And now...

Charmy didn't want to finish that thought.

"_Another gate reading, this time from the port stern!_" cried out Helen.

"From the opposite side this time?" breathed Elias. "Ari, evasive action!"

"Can't!" Ari replied. "It's too close! _We can't dodge it!_"

Helen turned her wheelchair to face the bridge, and then, over the open comm channel, rang a ferocious battle cry.

A moment of absolute silence...

And the missile exploded.

For a moment, the bridge's windows were filled with fire and the vessel quaked as though trying to shake itself apart...

Then the Super Galaxy Great Freedom stabilized.

"We made it?" asked Bean.

"By our protective shield, maybe?" Rotor said.

"Yes," said the Darkoak Head. "But it could not have handled a direct hit."

Chris said darkly, "Someone must have rammed the missile, then."

"It was Shade," whispered Helen, but everyone heard her. Her lips trembled, "I picked up... Star Nocturne's reading... at the last second."

Everyone bowed their heads in respect for their fallen comrade, however short her role in the final battle had been.

"Spiral Power is at 95%!" rang Lupe's voice from the engine room. "Get ready, everyone!"

_モリーの意志_

Cream could not work the controls of Star Cheese; the blast must have been stronger than she thought. The circuits were fused together, and the arms and right leg were completely blown off in the instant of the blast.

Was she going to die here?

Star Cheese buckled beneath her.

Her visual screens at least worked.

And they showed that Star Buzz Buzz had taken what was left of Star Cheese in its free arm.

"Cream, you alright?" Charmy asked.

"Charmy..."

Swarms of Kishes and Arasens swarmed them. Star Buzz Buzz tried to blast them away single-handed, but it couldn't aim very well with just one arm on its Spiral Polearm.

"We're going back to the Great Freedom together!" Charmy said.

"Charmy, you'll never make it with me holding you back!" Cream told him. "Save yourself!"

"Dumbass! I _can't_ do that, and you _know _it!"

But no matter how Charmy fired, there were still Anti-Spiral mechas in every direction.

One blast took out his levi-sphere, immobilizing him.

Another smashed his weapon arm to molten scrap.

"Shit..." Charmy hissed.

The enemies closed in...

And promptly detonated from Spiral Polearm blasts.

Charmy and Cream looked up.

Star Cascade!

"Charmy! Cream! Are you two alright?"

"Molly!" Charmy and Cream cried.

Star Cascade slung its Spiral Polearms over its back, taking Star Buzz Buzz and Star Cheese into its arms and blasting off towards the Super Galaxy Great Freedom.

"I'm taking you two back to roost!" she grunted as the Anti-Spiral fired at her back, smashing her two Spiral Polearms to pieces.

"You'll never make it!" Charmy shouted.

"My Star Cascade is tougher than you think!" Molly replied hotly. "Anyway, there's the ship."

So it was.

"Thank goodness!" Cream sighed.

And Molly hurled Charmy and Cream towards the ship.

"What the hell're you _doing_?" Charmy asked.

Molly finally switched her channel from audio only to audio-visual...

Her eyes were glowing green, with glowing green tears running down her face.

And she was wearing a peaceful, serene smile.

"Live love and love life," she said. "Do it for me."

"NO!" Charmy screamed.

"_Molly!_" Cream yelled.

They both knew what Molly was going to do.

Star Cascade turned to face the Anti-Spiral's endless hordes.

"I'm not gonna let them have their way anymore..." Molly growled, her expression becoming one of utmost fury just before she cut off her video signal. "I'm gonna show them..."

Star Cascade was torn apart by a pair of Kishes.

Cascade soured out from the flaming wreckage, its sea-blue paint job almost completely singed off.

"That the Great Freedom Fighters..."

Molly thrust the butterfly controls forward, and outside, Cascade pulled out its Fremerald Blade...

"NEVER GIVE IN!"

And did a berserker charge on the city-sized Anti-Spiral mechas.

Charmy and Cream knew she stood no chance.

"_Molly!_" they screamed on their comm channels after her.

The flicker of fire in the distance was another dull punch to their stomachs.

"MOLLYYYY!"

Charmy and Cream were the only two Fremerald pilots left in the Anti-Spiral dimension.

_宇宙の海_

And so the Star Gizoid Brigade and the shattered, humiliated remnants of the Star Emeraloid Brigade docked with Super Galaxy Great Freedom.

"I will never forget this..." Tails breathed, as the Spiral Power gauge reached maximum. "I will never forget this minute, this _second_..."

The time had come.

Time to avenge those Great Freedom Fighters who died today, to make this moment possible.

The connections were made.

The power was generated.

"Threshold achieved," Shadow murmured below.

Freedom Emerl began to glow green...

As did Typhoon Freedom Emerl...

And finally, so did Super Galaxy Great Freedom.

The Super Spiral gauge on the main bridge lit up golden-yellow.

"That did it," muttered Rotor darkly. "Begin transformation!"

Tails's eyes, once clenched shut, now shot open. He reached deep within Super Galaxy Great Freedom, to draw out the humanoid form that would make him a living god and make the Anti-Spiral tremble on their homeworld...

But just as he had begun to summon the words _Transform_ to his lips, a great jolt shook the moon-sized flagship...

And a dark reflection appeared alongside its port stern.

"Gravity field emanating from off the port bow!" Helen cried out. "We're not picking up anything on radar!"

The reflection rippled.

And when the Super Galaxy Great Freedom touched it, black water splashed up, and the Super Galaxy Great Freedom began to sink. The more it sank, the faster it sank.

"WHY IS THERE AN OCEAN IN SPACE?" roared Elias.

And the more it sank, the lower their Super Spiral Power gauge fell.

"NO! NO NO NO NO NO NO NO _NO_!" Tails was screaming. How could the energy be going _down_? He was more determined than ever before to succeed! _Why was this happening?_

"What's going on, fox boy?" Shadow asked, appearing in Tails's eye. He looked more confused than Tails.

"I don't know," Tails said in a hoarse voice. "But... it feels like the energy's being drained from my body...!"

So it did. The further into this dark ocean they sank, the heavier Tails's entire body felt, as though every cell in his body was carrying a ten-pound weight each.

Kukku's ball turned into a spiral.

"We don't have enough energy to surface!" Ari shouted.

"_What?_" Elias yelled.

"It is a trap," said the Darkoak Head levelly. "Have we walked right into it?"

In the Star Gizoid Hangar, Knuckles, Sally, Meg, Vector, Mighty, Espio, Big, Bark, Lobo, Charmy and Cream were clutching onto the nearest railing, each one wondering just what was going on outside.

And as the Super Galaxy Great Freedom sunk into the dark ocean in space, the silhouettes of the dragons Myst and Slayer looming overhead, no one's heart as more burdened than Tails.

Emerl's Spiral gauge was empty.

But the Core Drill was in it. So it should still be operable. But no matter how hard Tails pushed himself, the Spiral Power only became harder to push out.

He had generated that Spiral Power to avenge those who had fallen.

Now, as the Super Galaxy Great Freedom sunk into the last ocean that should have ever existed, Tails knew that it was all for naught.

Everyone's efforts these past minutes, everyone's sweat and blood and tears, all the lives that had been lost...

Had been for nothing.

They had all died for nothing.

**つづく  
To be continued...**

**

* * *

**

次回予告  
Next Episode Preview

This sea in space is a Spiral graveyard! Countless crushed hopes lie buried in its darkness. We will find tomorrow's victory in the flower that blossoms in the face of death!

Next time on _Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl_: _**"I Accept Your Last Wish"**_.


	32. Chapter 31

_(Chapter Thirty-One. Back to school for me. But I got the entire Grenadier manga, despite its being discontinued, so it's an even trade-off._

_Enjoy!_

_By the way, yes, I _was_ introduced to _Mahoromatic_ at Anime Club's first meeting this semester on Thursday. Why do you ask?)_

_

* * *

_

"This is the tale of a man who blows a hole in the destiny of a universe torn by the endless cycle of violence.

"The Super Galaxy Great Freedom sets sail to put an end to the conflict once and for all.

"The Freedom Fighters' new Star Emeraloid Squadron is killed off one by one by the fierce attack of the enemy fleet, which was lying in wait for them.

"Even the Super Galaxy Great Freedom, hoping to turn the tables by transforming, is swallowed up by a black sea that unfolds in space...

"...and is about to meet its end."

**CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE:  
I Accept Your Last Wish**

"The Super Galaxy Great Freedom is sinking!" Chris shouted.

"That's what I'm asking about!" Elias said exasperatedly. "What's an _ocean_ doing in _outer space_?"

"It's not water," said Rotor, pale at his terminal. "It's the fabric of space-time being compressed until it's ultra-dense. _That's_ why it looks like water."

"Nothing makes sense anymore!" Elias groaned, putting a hand to his forehead. "Get us outta here, Ari!"

"I can't!" Ari yelled, straining against the helm. "Spiral Power output is _decreasing_!"

_ラブコメ_

Down in the Star Gizoid hangar, Sally, her sniper rifle Nicole slung over her shoulder, was knocked off-balance by some of the Super Galaxy Great Freedom's shaking.

Knuckles caught her from behind.

"Careful, there!" he said as the rest of the pilots rushed past them to see what the fuss was about.

"Thank you," Sally replied.

Knuckles grinned slightly.

"You must be losing your touch, Sal, to get thrown off by just a little shaking like this."

Sally smiled a little, "Not at all. That was just a matter of filling in the blanks with life experiences."

Knuckles let go of Sally as though she had electrified him - fortunately, she'd regained her balance. "E-experiences?" he stammered.

"What's gotten into you?" she asked, an eyebrow raising.

"Nothing," Knuckles said a little too hastily. Casting around for a different subject to take off of his new awkwardness around Sally, he settled on her rifle.

"So... why are you still lugging that thing around? It's not like there are any Anti-Spiral mechas that a gun would take out."

Sally slung Nicole around so that she held the rifle in front of her. There was a small computer screen by the sniper scope that Knuckles had not noticed before.

"Nicole here is like an old friend to me," Sally said. "I've pretty much owned her for almost eight years now. And that's not all. She—"

The screen began to flash, and Sally, her eyes widening slightly in disbelief, looked down at the screen.

It began to glow steadily.

_NEURONAL INTEGRATED CIRCUIT OPERATION-BASED LIVING ENTITY - CODENAME: __**NICOLE**__ - NOW ONLINE_, said a voice remarkably like Sally's from the glowing screen, which showed a pixelated image of a lynx in a spiraling purple dress.

Sally smiled.

"Hello, Nicole. I am Sally Acorn. I am the one who programmed you."

_GREETINGS, SALLY. I AM PLEASED TO MAKE THE ACQUAINTANCE OF MY MAKER._

Knuckles mouth opened and closed like a fish. "So... that thing can _talk_ now?"

_SEARCHING DATABASES..._ After a few seconds, Nicole spoke again. _93% MATCH ON KNUCKLES THE ECHIDNA OF GAWAIN VILLAGE. CONFIRM._

"Of course! It's me, Knuckles The Echidna, and I gotta say, Nicole, if Sal here really _did_ program ya, she's got a good brain _and _a great body, too!"

**POW**

Knuckles rubbed at the lump on his head as Sally lowered her fist.

_I THINK THAT DIRTY THOUGHTS ARE BAD_, said Nicole testily. Inexplicably, she briefly appeared to be wearing a maid's outfit.

"She's really like you," Knuckles said.

Another tremor shook the Super Galaxy Great Freedom.

"I don't like the sound of that. What the hell's going on up there?" Knuckles grumbled.

_I MUST CONFESS THAT I, TOO, AM CURIOUS ABOUT THE CIRCUMSTANCES. WAS THE HELIX KING NOT OVERTHROWN, AS WAS INPUT INTO MY DATABASES?_

Sally's eyes met those of the digital lynx on Nicole's screen.

"Looks like I need to explain the changes that happened during your gestation, Nicole."

_デススパイラルフィールド_

"Enemy fleet is converging on the surface!" Helen said. Ripples made the enemy ships appear to waver above them.

"Firing main cannons!" shouted Bean, slamming the button over and over.

Beams of swirling yellow energy lanced out from almost every area on the Super Galaxy Great Freedom's surface...

Before fading to green, then to blue, then dissipating completely within the black sea around them.

"Main gun beams have died out!" Chris explained as Bean mashed the buttons frantically.

"The Spiral Energy was _absorbed_?" Rotor breathed.

"How?" Elias asked.

"How could my main guns not work...?" Bean asked in despair, slumping against his console.

"They _never_ work when you use them!" Chris snapped.

"It would appear," the Lucus Darkoak Head said, "That this is a Death Spiral Field."

"Death Spiral?" asked Rotor.

"Within the Death Spiral Field, Spiral Energy is absorbed and converted into mass," the bio-computer explained. "The more Spiral Power we use, the denser this region becomes."

"So _that's_ why it looks like a sea," Rotor noted.

The Darkoak Head nodded. "If we were to sink into the deepest area of the Death Spiral Field, not even the Super Galaxy Great Freedom would survive."

"Then the water pressure—no, the _space_ pressure will crush us flat if we stay in here too long."

"This can't be happening..." Elias muttered as the pilots appeared on warp platforms at the back of the bridge.

Tails appeared on the main monitor. Freedom Emerl and Typhoon Freedom Emerl appeared on separate monitors around him. Their Giga Drills were spinning faster than anyone had ever seen; green energy was actually glowing through the drills' grooves.

"Leave it to me, Elias!" he said, wearing a grin that barely hid his strain. "The key is to rev the engines faster than our energy can be drained. Our power source is _infinite_! Just as long as our hearts don't give in!"

On Tails's screen, a screen showing Shadow appeared.

"You spout a lot of crap, fox boy." Then a shadow of a grin appeared on the Black Arms's face. "But this is crap I can get behind. Leave the fine-tuning to me!"

Rotor hastened to the main screen, waving his arms in protest.

"Listen, Tails! Don't kill yourself! Remember that _you're_ the power source!"

"That's why..." When Tails looked up, a golden light was in his eyes. "That's why I can't... why _we_ can't... AFFORD TO GIVE UP HERE!"

The Super Spiral gauge peaked at 27%, the highest it had been since they entered the Death Spiral Field.

And it was still climbing. Slower than it ever had, but climbing nonetheless.

"Take us up, Ari!" Elias said, a relieved grin appearing on his face.

"That did the trick!" said Ari, pushing forward on the helm, and the Super Galaxy Great Freedom rumbled, its engines struggling against the fact that its own energy source was dragging it down, before...

Slowly...

Surely...

Making for the surface of the Death Spiral Field.

It could only get easier from there.

"Enemy units have entered the Field and are headed this way!" cried Helen.

All about them, Kishes and Arasens and Wutthuhs descended, unimpeded by the ocean of pure mass.

"Bean! Switch to physical ammo!" Elias ordered.

"YOU GOT IT!" Bean yelled, mashing one button, then several others. "CHEW ON THIS!"

Lances of smoke and fire streaked out from the Super Galaxy Great Freedom, smashing Anti-Spiral robots into metal shells that then collapsed into themselves under the weight of the Death Spiral Field.

"The missiles are working!" cheered Mighty.

"Yay!" Big cried.

"No," Espio said warily. "There are more enemies than we have missiles."

Sure enough, even though the sea's surface above was completely blocked from view by a curtain of smoke and flame, countless Anti-Spiral mechas descended towards the Super Dimensional Fortress Gizoid, pressing against it and forcing it back down.

"They're trying to force us to the bottom!" Chris cried.

_ＢａｆＢａｆ！そんなに燃えるのが…好きかい？_

"_Can't we do something to shake them off?_" said the monitor in Elias's voice, showing the enemy mechas pushing the Super Galaxy Great Freedom down further into the Death Spiral Field.

Knuckles turned to Sally.

She nodded in silent agreement.

Most of the Star Gizoids had suffered some sort of debilitating damage in their first gambit against the Anti-Spiral. Only their Star King Knuckles and Star Acorn Cannon were fit to re-enter the fray so soon.

It was a good thing they were the only pilots who had loitered so long in the hangar.

"Aren't you scared?"

Not the only ones, as it turned out.

Charmy stood before Knuckles, Cream just behind him.

Not hovered.

Stood.

As though Charmy could not draw enough energy from the universe to flit his wings.

And Charmy's eyes had a light - or lack thereof - in them that Knuckles had seen once before:

In Tails's eyes, just after Sonic died.

"Aren't you scared of dying?" Charmy said. "You'll be fighting a ton of enemies in an ultra-dense region of space. How can you go out there... in your... in your smashed-up Star King Knuckles..." Charmy sniffled. "Knowing what could happen?"

Knuckles blinked. Was this the same quirky Charmy he'd known for seven years? And Knuckles realized that perhaps he himself was not the only one to have gotten older in that time.

"Charmy, you..."

Charmy stared down at the floor, where raindrop-sized circles became darker. And wetter.

"It's no fair," Charmy croaked. "I want to be able to go out there and go out in a blaze of glory just like you're gonna..." Charmy's fists shook. "But I just can't get my body to move!"

Cream took one of Charmy's fists in her hands.

"Charmy..." she said.

Knuckles was more direct in his answer.

"_What are you, some kinda MORON?_"

Charmy blinked up at Knuckles with red, puffy eyes.

"Show me the person who _ain't_ afraid of dying!" Knuckles challenged Charmy, looking back at his King Knuckles, then beyond, to his Star King Knuckles. "But I got no choice! This is all I know how to do! We're doing this 'cause we _want_ to. You gotta keep moving forward, all the time, and that goes _double_ when you're _scared_!"

Knuckles scratched the back of his head.

"Basically, it's like... you know..." Knuckles kicked bitterly. "Damn it, I can't get it out right!"

Sally chuckled slightly to herself. Nicole, on her screen, gave her maker a peculiar glance.

Sighing, Knuckles climbed into King Knuckles's cockpit, but before he closed it, he faced Charmy and Cream again.

"I'll just say this:" Knuckles said, firmly. "The reason that Molly helped you two, even if it meant sacrificed herself, was because she _wanted_ to. So don't go feeling like you owe her! Got it?"

King Knuckles stepped backwards into Star King Knuckles's mouth.

Charmy and Cream's eyes met.

They nodded.

Charmy's wings buzzed to life.

Charmy brought down his pilot's goggles.

Inside King Knuckles, Knuckles was rubbing his face with his hand.

"Damn it, I can't get the right words out..." he mumbled.

Sally appeared in his eye, Acorn Cannon appearing in the corner of the monitor.

"You think so?" she asked.

"If _he_ were here, he'd've had them fired up in no time flat," Knuckles grumbled. "When he talked, his words just went straight to your heart. I really envy him for that."

"'He'..." Sally sighed.

Apparently, she knew who Knuckles was talking about.

"I feel it more and more as I get older," Knuckles said. "Sonic was one hell of a guy."

"You're overlooking something, Knuckles," Sally said, smiling slightly. "The Great Freedom Fighters never would have made it this far without you. Tails pulled us from above, and you pushed and shoved us from below. That's how we managed to make it this far. At least... that's how I feel. That's a job to be just as proud of as encouraging people to action, isn't it?"

A mini-screen, opposite Acorn Cannon, appeared. It showed a digital lynx.

_I AGREE COMPLETELY WITH SALLY_, said Nicole. _THEN AGAIN, SEEING AS I AM DERIVED FROM HER MENTAL WAVELENGTHS, THAT SHOULD NOT BE ALTOGETHER SURPRISING..._

Knuckles gripped the butterfly controls of King Knuckles.

"We're wasting time here," Knuckles growled as Star King Knuckles mouth clamped shut in front of King Knuckles. "Let's do it to it!"

_The Blue monday e"r"ectrical parade_

A minute later, Star King Knuckles and Star Acorn Cannon had blasted out of the hangar and where blasting holes in the Kishes and Arasens and Wutthuhs.

"Knuckles...?" Elias gasped as Star King Knuckles blasted by overhead. "And _Sally_? Their Star Gizoids work in this space soup?"

Lupe appeared on the main screen.

"The Star Gizoids' Spiral Engines aren't their only sources of power," she said, sparks occasionally lighting up her face. "They ran on electricity when we were on the surface, remember?"

"Oh, so they have backup generators as well!" Elias replied.

Outside, Star Acorn Cannon picked off two Kishes with its twin cannons.

And an Arasen was coming up from behind.

Sally gasped. She could not turn in time to blast it.

"Get outta the way!" shouted Star King Knuckles, pointing his lance - the computer monitor called it a Gáe Bolg, whatever _that_ meant - at the Arasen. "Don't screw with me!"

The Anti-Spiral robot exploded.

Star King Knuckles's left arm was blown off.

"Are you alright?" Sally asked anxiously.

"It's just an arm," said Knuckles nonchalantly. Thankfully, he had shut off the sympathetic pain algorithm beforehand. "It's no big deal."

"That was a rookie mistake," Sally said. "Sorry."

Knuckles grinned. "Don't sweat it. After all, you're just 'filling in the blanks with life experiences', right?"

Even more enemy mechas descended from the Death Spiral Field's surface.

_THE ANTI-SPIRAL MECHAS ARE COMING IN MUCH GREAT NUMBERS, SALLY_, Nicole said.

"I see that, Nicole," Sally said, gripping Acorn Cannon's butterfly controls more tightly.

"Hey, Sal," said Knuckles in Sally's eye. "When we get back to Möbius, how's about introducing me to those kids of yours?"

Sally gasped.

"I may be tough on the outside, but I get all gooey inside for kids. So, once we waste these guys, kick the Anti-Spiral's ass, and head back to Möbius, that's when I'll—"

The enemy mechas opened fire all at once, and Star King Knuckles and Star Acorn Cannon scattered.

"DAMN IT, LET ME _FINISH_, YOU FUCKERS!" Knuckles bellowed.

The enemy robots suddenly were struck by several bolts of energy, and exploded.

A pair of Star Emeraloids appeared, each wielding a pair of Helix Polearms. One had orange-colored eyes and cape; the other's were in cream.

**スターブンブーンⅡ  
Star Buzz Buzz II**

**スターチーズⅡ  
Star Cheese II**

"Are you two alright?" called out the orange-eyed one in Charmy's voice.

"We got two new Star Emeraloids and got out as fast as we could!" said the other in Cream's voice.

"You two pipsqueaks?" Knuckles shouted. "Show some common sense and scram, why don't ya?"

Charmy appeared in Knuckles's eye, grinning the Sonic Grin. "Hey, c'mon! We kick common sense _out_ and go beyond the impossible! Isn't that how the Freedom Fighters roll?"

"Yeah, but..."

Cream appeared beside Charmy. She was smiling gently.

"We're doing this because we want to. So please, allow us to fight at your side one last time."

Knuckles's grin returned, looking weary. "Unbelievable... Kids_ and _women, I just can't say no to 'em."

Star King Knuckles turned its gaze back to the Super Galaxy Great Freedom.

"Okay, you three! We're gonna rip those monsters offa the ship!"

Star King Knuckles blasted off, followed by Star Acorn Cannon, Star Buzz Buzz II, and Star Cheese II.

"Roger!" the three others called.

_コスモの決意_

"Dear Sonic," Cosmo said, staring down at the dark space ocean below, the Anti-Spiral battleships Myst and Slayer hovering over it.

Tails was down there.

Tails was her lover. Her friend. Her leader of the Freedom Fighters.

And she, Cosmo Darkoak, was his lover. His friend. The former Helix Princess. Daughter of Lucus Darkoak, the Helix King, whom Tails had slain.

There. Cosmo could identify herself with that.

It was all she could do to hold onto her own personhood like that, and chant _I am Cosmo_ in her heart - or did she even have a heart, being a program now? - so that she would not lose herself to the Anti-Spiral's analysis.

"The tomorrow that you pointed out to us has given us strength," Cosmo said, continuing her letter to Sonic. "That is why I am able to believe." Cosmo strained to hold herself - her _self_ - together. "That Tails, and the others, will build a new tomorrow."

And Cosmo delved into her heart, delving through the memories of her past life as Cosmo Darkoak - the lover of Tails; the daughter of Lucus Darkoak; the friend of Sally Acorn; the last scion of the planet Greengate...

_"Father! My dollie is broken! Can you fix her?"_

_"I have a question to ask... of my father."_

_"Father... why was I born?"_

_"Good day to you."_

_"So _this _is rain!"_

_"Tails... That is a nice name."_

_"Hello, everyone. My name is Cosmo. It is wonderful to meet you all."_

_"Do you see, Salasine? Möbians may be small creatures indeed. But inside every chest of every Möbian beats a tremendously huge heart! They are_ not _dolls! And neither am _I_!"_

_"Thank you, Tails."_

_"A Gizoid... for me?"_

_"I will name it... White Seed."_

_"Farewell, Father... I will head towards tomorrow."_

_"Tails... I... I love you!"_

_"This is a wonderful statue, Tails!"_

_"My... my flowers have bloomed!"_

_"Mister Knuckles? What exactly is a 'period'?"_

_"A letter... from Miss Sally? She's a _teacher_ now?"_

_"...Our bond is sealed now, Tails... for life..."_

_"This diamond, Tails? You... want it _back_?"_

_"My dream is to cover all the land in flowers."_

_"Tails, we are different people. Very, very different people. Different people do different things from each other. But because we are different, we try to understand one another. I want to know you more, Tails. We will always be together, and I will still want to know more about you. And, Tails... I want you to want to know more about me, too."_

_"I _will _marry you, Tails, but will _you_ marry _me_?"_

_"Will you come and rescue me?"_

_"I knew... you would keep your word."_

_**how fascinating, irregular**_, said that dreadful Anti-Spiral, appearing before Cosmo in the space before her, above the hologram of the Death Spiral Field. She - Cosmo identified the Anti-Spiral as a she, based off of its vague appearance as a berobed human girl clutching a staff - was a blank silhouette, a human-shaped window into chaotic nothing. The glint of eyes - twin glints of five-hundred-trillion eyes each - could be seen on her otherwise featureless face.

Cosmo only glared at the Anti-Spiral.

_**you are reintegrating your data by recalling past memories? most impressive. but your effort is wasted.**_

"Tails will not let the Death Spiral Field keep him trapped! He will break free, and then you'll be sorry!"

_**even if they escape the abyss**_, the Anti-Spiral said darkly, examining the tips of her fingers, _**they do not yet know of despair. and if that does not impede them...**_

A quadrillion eyes, glittering with menace, met Cosmo's.

_**there is always the labyrinth.**_

_デススパイラルマシン_

Meg was the last pilot on the bridge now; the others had returned to the hangar to await further orders.

And she was shaking.

"What is it, honey?" Elias asked.

"Why did I come?" Meg was crying. "Oh, why did I _come_? I'm so far away from Alexis now... I can't take care of her... I can't protect her..." She threw herself into Elias's arms. "The Anti-Spiral were right! I'm a _horrible_ mother!"

Elias patted her back. "There, there, Meg. We left Allie in good hands. Blaze and Marine will look after her till we get home." _And if we _don't, Elias thought, not daring to voice that particular line of thought. He smiled slightly, "Besides, I can't think of any other mother who would pick a fight with someone a dimension away for threatening her kid."

Meg wiped away her tears, returning his slight smile, her eyes shining with endless, unspoken love.

"Thanks, Elias. That was just the darkness getting to me."

"All enemy units pushing down the Super Galaxy Great Freedom confirmed destroyed!" called out Helen brightly.

Meg gave Elias a quick kiss on the lips, before walking off to the warp panel to the hangar.

Charmy appeared on the screen.

"Everyone, look at _this_!" he said, his image quickly being replaced with an image of what looked like a field of stars... if it had been cut out like a circle of paper and laid out across the pitch-black of the Death Spiral Field.

And there were about a dozen and a half glints amongst the stars that looked a little green...

"Zooming in," said Helen, and the image swelled, becoming pixelated as it focused on those green blips.

"Increasing resolution." The image resolved into...

Everyone gasped.

"Hey, those are Emerls!" gasped Elias.

So they were. Eighteen or so miniature Gizoids, identical to Tails's Emerl save for their pale-green colorization, were hovering amongst the countless Gizoids that formed that so-called field of stars. The Emerls alone seemed unaffected by the gravitational effects of the Death Spiral Field.

"What the hell's going on, Rotor?" asked Knuckles, appearing on a secondary screen on the bridge.

"It appears," said the Darkoak Head, "That those are the remains of the Spiral Warriors who battled against the Anti-Spiral Rebellion." Suddenly, the Darkoak Head's eyes narrowed. "Curious... It appears that there are _twenty_..."

Two more Emerls, these ones gun-gray with blood-red eyes, had drifted into view from behind a pair of inert Gizoids.

"It would appear that the Spiral Warriors had enough resources to create two more Core Machines after Möbius was subjugated by my former body, Lucus Darkoak."

Sally, Charmy, and Cream appeared on screens beside Knuckles's. Said echidna from Gawain Village looked troubled. "So... this means that others besides _us_ made it this far?"

_**indeed it does, foolish people of the spiral**_, the voice of the Anti-Spiral said. Everyone gasped and looked around; Helen's hands flew to her ears. _**do not believe yourselves to be special. in the battle between the spiral races and us, the anti-spiral, that has crossed the eons, you so-called freedom fighters are paltry, truly insignificant beings.**_

Inside Emerl, Tails was breathing heavily, blood dripping out of his nose. The closer their ship got to that field of derelict Gizoids, the more his body cried out in pain as it tried to force out more Spiral Power.

And if what the Anti-Spiral said was true, then he wasn't the first to suffer this agony.

And probably not the last, either.

_**now...**_

White clouds appeared around the Super Galaxy Great Freedom.

_**behold the history of the spiral races' defeat.**_

Images appeared on the clouds...

Images of Gizoids being torn apart by Anti-Spiral mechas familiar and unknown...

Images of the Hell Huenlonix performing a Giga Drill Driver with its shoulder drills through its own forces...

Images of an Emerl's pilot being ripped out and - Chris retched - being torn limb from limb before their eyes...

_**you are in the galactic spiral abyss. the spiral graveyard.**_

"High-order energy reading detected from the deepest area," said Helen, the image of the sphere of derelict Gizoids and inert Emerls giving way to a computer grid version of that image, showing a white object shaped like a heart in the center. It pulsed every second or so, and whenever it did, a barely noticable wave of nausea swept the crew of the Super Galaxy Great Freedom. Helen gasped, "We're being slowly pulled in!"

"The Death Spiral Machine," said the Lucus Darkoak Head. "That is what is generating this Field."

**銀河螺旋海溝  
Galactic Spiral Abyss**

"It's killed that many _Emerl_ pilots...?" breathed Elias.

"So, while the tears of women find the oceans of the world, this _space_ ocean is where the tears of the Spiral races end up..." sighed Rotor.

"_This is no time to get all poetic on us, Rote!_" snapped Knuckles. "If this keeps up, the whole goddamn _ship_ is gonna be crushed!"

"_Don't give up, everyone!_" Tails's voice echoed throughout the ship. Hearts leapt at the sound of it; Tails had never sounded so strained before. "We won't let the Anti-Spiral have things their way! Our dead comrades... The Spiral races that fell in battle... We'll take in all of their regrets. We'll take it all in, and turn it into _strength_! We can't let it end... NOT HERE!"

The Super Spiral gauge barely budged. This was clearly taking its toll on Tails far worse than any of them. Not only was he their greatest source of Spiral Power - making him especially effected by the Death Spiral Machine's pulses of Spiral-Energy-to-mass wavelength, but he was also inside Emerl - which magnified Spiral Power, thus magnifying the effect on Tails, worsening as they got nearer to the heart of the machine.

"_Ari!_" Tails appeared on the main monitor. Half of the bridge gasped. Tails looked terrible. Not only was blood dribbling out of both of his nostrils, but he was also _sweating blood_ from the forehead in his strain to produce Spiral Power. "Turn us around! Take us to the core!"

"What do you have in mind?" Elias asked unsteadily.

"What else?" Tails glared, a golden light in his pupils. "We'll fly down the Death Spiral Machine's throat and _destroy _it! That's how the Great Freedom Fighters do it!"

Rotor stroked his chin, before shrugging. He looked like he would not smile again in his life. "He has a point. We've always rolled the dice on Tails's drill."

Elias nodded. "Up until now."

A half-smile crossed his face.

"And from now on, too. Right?"

He faced Ari.

"Ari! Bring us about 180, full speed! Point the bow towards the Death Spiral Machine!"

"I'm on it!" said Ari, a little warily.

But when Ari turned the helm, the Super Galaxy Great Freedom did not budge.

Inside Emerl, Kukku noticed that the Spiral gauge was falling down, even as his master pushed himself into weariness and beyond.

So he decided to pitch in.

"ChaoooOO~!" he cried, the ball over his head turning into a spiral as his body glowed green.

The Spiral gauge filled.

Tails's eyes popped out.

"Kukku has Spiral Power, too?" Rotor asked, in wonder at the green-glowing Chao on the screen.

"Möbian sentients are not the only Spiral lifeforms on Möbius," explained the Darkoak Head. "Perhaps it mutated, or evolved. Perhaps it is responding to _Tails's_ Spiral Power. In any case, that Chao has stored up an inordinate amount of Spiral Power over the years."

"Kukku! Keep it up!" Tails smiled, gasping for breath. "You're a Great Freedom Fighter, too, you know!"

Kukku cried _Chao!_, his shades glinting green, and with a great heft, Ari swung the helm around.

Now, the Super Galaxy Great Freedom's bow pointed towards the core of the Death Spiral Machine. Its engines fired off, the increasing mass behind it as its Spiral Power faded into darkness actually pressing it down towards the Death Spiral Machine.

"The Death Spiral Machine is surrounded by a region of ultra-super-dense space," explained the Darkoak Head, an image of a dark-blue heart, pulsing once a second, appearing on the main screen. "Even the Super Galaxy Great Freedom will be lucky to last more than 300 seconds at that proximity. A Spiral Conversion Field is in place around the Machine. This field protects the device by converting mass and matter into Spiral Power."

"So it negates the pressure _and_ generates energy at the same time," Rotor said. "Two birds with one stone. A technological marvel, really. What a shame it had to be put to such sinister use. Even so, it has a potentially fatal flaw."

"Yes," said the Darkoak Head. "A massive dose of _Spiral Power_ from _outside_ the Field will disrupt that process, leading to a localized collapse of the Spiral Conversion Field."

"We then lob as many Spiral missiles as we can into the gap," Rotor said, a faint memory of a smile gracing his face. "And that's the end of the Death Spiral Machine... so we hope."

From his vantage point in the hangar, Bark grinned, "Well, that don't sound as tough as I expected!"

"I guess it means that the Anti-Spiral didn't count on there being anyone crazy enough to dive _towards_ the Death Spiral Machine," Sally quipped.

Lobo faced a screen which showed Lupe in the Spiral Weapon Generation Room.

"How are the Super Spiral Missiles coming along, honey?" he asked.

Lupe looked grim.

"Tails is really running himself into the ground up there," she said. Behind her, pure Spiral Power was being fed into a machine; a heavily armored, drill-tipped missile emerged from the other end. "Two Super Spiral Missiles will be all we can make."

"Two shots will be all we need!" shouted Bean from his station.

A crash echoed through the Super Galaxy Great Freedom.

"What was _that_?" asked Elias. There weren't any enemy mechas nearby! ...Were there?

"There's flooding in block 5826!" Chris yelled.

"_Flooding?_"

"We're taking on ultra-dense space," explained Rotor. "So, technically, we're not flooding, we're _spacing_!"

Chris's computer screen flashed red twice more.

"And block 280! And block 447!" A third flash. "Block 2391, too!"

"Close all bulkheads!" Elias ordered. "Don't let any more space get onboard the ship!"

Clunks of slamming steel echoed about the ship as every bulkhead in every hallway slammed shut.

The Darkoak Head turned slightly to face Rotor. It looked mildly concerned. "The probability of this operation's success is—"

"You don't need to tell us," Rotor waved his hand. "We know it's crazy. We'll have five minutes to carry out the operation once we get into firing range. If we don't make it in that time, we'll be crushed flat."

Down inside Typhoon Freedom Emerl...

The Giga Drill sprouting from Freedom Emerl's left arm snapped off in a shower of green sparks.

Tails and Kukku screamed at the top of their lungs, clutching their left hands.

"The Giga Drill... _broke_?" Elias gasped.

Rotor addressed Chris. "Chris, let Helen take care of this from here. Give Lupe a hand replacing that drill!"

"Gotcha!" Chris said, vanishing in a push of a button and a flash of green light.

Lupe's mobile unit was carrying the Giga Drill, presenting it to the one Chris was in.

"Get it replaced ASAP!" she said. "We don't have a lot of time!"

Tails breathed heavily, clutching Emerl's controls for support.

His cheeks puffed out...

And he vomited blood.

Shadow looked up, looking _very _concerned. "Fox boy, what's wrong?"

Tails collapsed against Emerl's Spiral gauge. Blood coated his teeth. "It... It's alright," he wheezed. "I can... still make it..."

But the Spiral gauge had gone completely blank.

The Super Galaxy Great Freedom quaked more violently, and a dozen alarms began blaring.

"Spacing has grown more severe!" Helen shrieked, her console flashing red. "Bulkheads are failing throughout the ship! Gates 589 through 779 - and Gate 3264 - have all been destroyed!"

"Step on it, Ari!" Elias ordered, panicking.

Down in the hangar, Knuckles gazed up at the ragged looking drills that Chris had set down, aided by his mobile unit.

"What is...?"

"This a Giga Drill that broke off of Freedom Emerl," Chris explained.

"It _broke_ off...?"

"Yeah. We haven't seen it happen often, have we? At least, only against really big enemies. This is _really_ taking a toll on Tails."

Knuckles could only nod darkly.

"Approaching the Death Spiral Machine. It will enter firing range momentarily," Helen said, her voice hoarse from fear.

"I've been waiting for this!" shouted Bean.

"Status on Super Spiral Missiles?" Elias asked the main screen.

Lupe appeared on the main screen, giving a swift thumbs-up.

"Ready to fire."

On the Super Galaxy Great Freedom's prow, a missile port emerged. The middle cannon adjusted its aim, directly at the field surrounding the Death Spiral Machine.

"Enemy mechanism is now within firing range!" Helen said.

Bean slammed the fire button repeatedly.

"FIRE!" he screamed.

The Super Spiral Missile fired, on a beeline course for the Spiral Conversion Field, set to detonate as soon as it made contact. The Spiral Power within would cause the field to collapse in the vicinity, and then the second Super Spiral Missile would be fired to destroy the Machine...

At least, that was the plan.

The first Super Spiral Missile collapsed into itself before it even got halfway to the Spiral Conversion Field.

"But... but we ran strength calculations for the missile casing!" Rotor said, his jaw slack.

"The density was even higher than we calculated...?" Elias breathed.

All the lights flickered out almost instantaneously, before turning a low red.

"What happened?" Elias asked.

"Spiral Power levels have reached _zero_," said the Darkoak Head. "We have switched to back-up electrical generators."

"What... what happened to Tails?" asked Rotor, running up to Chris's vacant station and keying in the video feed for Emerl.

It was pitch-black.

And Rotor heard a sound that made his breath catch:

Tails's breathing had become ragged and uneven.

"_Tails!_" Rotor shouted. "Tails, can you hear me?"

Shadow appeared in the corner of the screen.

"Don't worry," he said, looking more anxious than anyone had ever seen him. "He's still alive... but the enemy's Spiral Power absorption rate is greater than his ability to generate it."

Though no one would have been able to see it, Tails managed to pull himself up and grasp at Emerl's controls, but at this closeness to the Death Spiral Machine, the Spiral Power was practically solidifying inside his body, making it almost impossible to even move.

And when he pushed himself, his nose bled and his chest ached - blood was probably in his lungs at this point - but the Spiral gauge did not even flicker.

But Tails would not give up.

Cosmo was waiting for him.

"I'm sorry, Tails," Shadow said solemnly. It was the first time anyone could recall him ever calling any Freedom Fighter by name; even Sonic did not have that honor. Shadow hung his head. "If only _I_ had Spiral Power..."

Shadow slammed his fist against one of Freedom's computer screens, shattering it.

"GOD_DAMN_ IT!"

The Super Galaxy Great Freedom's shaking had become continuous now.

Helen turned on her wheelchair.

"Spacing is rapidly advancing!" she screamed. "Time remaining, 4 minutes, 10 seconds!"

The main screen was overtaken by a singular image:

_**EMERGENCY!**_  
**TIME UNTIL TOTAL COLLAPSE  
04:07:97**

Rotor hailed Lupe, down in the hangar.

"Lupe, beef up the Super Spiral Missile's casing! You have _one minute_!"

"I'm already on it!" Lupe said, looking quite harried. Tensions were running high on all ends.

The sounds of what could have been rushing water were beginning to fill the hangar.

Vector growled, "Shit... Are we gonna die here without having done anything?"

Sally stood up from her pensive stance, looking up at her Star Acorn Cannon, then down at the Acorn Cannon set in front of it...

And grit her teeth.

_SALLY?_ Nicole asked. _WHAT ARE YOU THINKING, SALLY?_

Vector looked up, "Sal, your gun is talking. Why is your gun talking?"

"I programmed her to talk," she said shortly, before walking towards Lupe.

Her expression was set.

"Lupe. Attach the Super Spiral Missile to my Star Gizoid."

"No way, Sal," said Knuckles, laying a large mitt on her shoulder. "But that's _my_ job."

The Great Freedom Fighters' Gizoid pilots grouped behind Knuckles.

"No, let _me_ do it!" shouted Mighty.

"_I_ should be the one to do it!" demanded Espio.

"My Star Gizoid is wrecked; this'll be its last mission!" Vector reasoned.

"I'll do it!" Big shouted slowly.

"I can handle it!" yelled Lobo.

"I'm the one who'll handle this!" Bark barked.

"Don't do it, Knuckles!" Meg implored.

Knuckles only grinned at them.

"Sorry to disappoint you guys, but..." he faced Lupe. "So, Lupe, which Star Gizoid is the toughest?"

"Star King Knuckles's Titanium Head Driver mode," she said matter-of-factly.

The advancing space was all that could be heard in the silence after.

"There you have it," Knuckles said, with no smugness in his tone at all. "This is the last Super Spiral Missile that Tails nearly killed himself making. We can't afford to waste it. Plus, it'd be quicker than beefing up the missile casing."

He faced Sally, who was looking away.

"That's what you had in mind, right, Sal?"

She turned to face him...

And he grabbed her shoulders, pressing his lips to hers.

When he pulled away ten seconds later, Sally was stunned.

"Sorry," Knuckles said. "That was just me thinking of myself, same as always."

Sally smiled, before resting her hands on his back.

"Thank you," he whispered in her ear.

"You're doing this because you _want_ to," Sally breathed back. "I can't stop you."

"_Libera me" from hell_

_**EMERGENCY!**_  
**TIME UNTIL TOTAL COLLAPSE  
02:50:74**

Star King Knuckles, its five dreadlocks locked around the Super Spiral Missile, missile silos locked onto its right shoulder and in its left arm socket, blasted at top speed out of the Super Galaxy Great Freedom's prow, on a direct course for the Spiral Conversion Field.

"See ya, big guy!" Knuckles bellowed over the main screen. "That's _exactly _the kind of showy crap I'm _not_ gonna say!" He shouted, "I'll be back soon, ya crackheads!"

The main screen cut out, showing the emergency timer and a live computer simulation of what was happening out between the Super Galaxy Great Freedom and the Death Spiral Machine.

_**EMERGENCY!**_  
**TIME UNTIL TOTAL COLLAPSE  
02:16:43**

The pilots gathered on the bridge again. The only members of the Great Freedom Fighters who were not present on the bridge were Tails, Shadow, and Kukku.

"Please..." Elias whispered. This man was practically his brother-in-law; Elias only wished that Knuckles would do what he had to do, then come back in one piece.

_**EMERGENCY!**_  
**TIME UNTIL TOTAL COLLAPSE  
01:57:26**

Star King Knuckles, weaving through the field of collapsed Gizoids and inert Emerls, disengaged from Titanium Head Driver mode, and guided the Super Spiral Missile into the Spiral Conversion Field.

It detonated.

The field collapsed in a perfect circle around where the missile exploded, exposing...

"So, that's it, huh?"

The Death Spiral Machine looked like a large heart made of dark-blue flesh. It pulsed every second, and Knuckles felt a desire to be sick sweep him every time it did.

He held it back.

"Now... FIRE THE MISSILES!"

Red screens showing the missile silos with **X**'s over them flashed across all of King Knuckles's screens.

Apparently, the gravitational forces had crushed them shut.

"Damn it... why'd they have to bust _now_?"

_THU-THUMP_

Star King Knuckles's dreadlocks buckled.

_THU-THUMP_

Star King Knuckles's torso collapsed into itself.

_THU-THUMP_

Star King Knuckles's missile silos fell inwards...

And detonated, destroying the Star Gizoid.

_**EMERGENCY!**_  
**TIME UNTIL TOTAL COLLAPSE  
01:34:65**

"Explosion confirmed inside the Spiral Conversion Field!" Helen shouted.

"Did he do it?" Elias asked.

"No..." Helen looked pale. "The Death Spiral Machine is still intact and active."

Rotor looked shocked. "Knuckles..."

Bean slammed a feathery fist into the console. "You went and died for nothing, you dumb bastard..."

"Wait!" Sally called out. "What's that energy reading?"

A small blip had emerged from the wreckage of Star King Knuckles and was moving steadfastly towards the heart of the machine.

_JUDGING FROM THE SIZE_, Nicole said, _IT WOULD APPEAR... THAT IT IS THE GIZOID THAT WAS INSIDE THE STAR GIZOID._

"What?" the bridge echoed.

_**EMERGENCY!**_  
**TIME UNTIL TOTAL COLLAPSE  
01:12:46**

Knuckles appeared on the main screen again. His eyes, pupils and all, were glowing green, spiraling emerald light emerging from his pupils. His fur had also gone green, his dreadlocks flailing on their own.

"_MY KING KNUCKLES IS STILL KICKING!_" he bellowed. "_I BORROWED ONE OF FREEDOM EMERL'S DRILLS AS A GOOD LUCK CHARM!_" His tone turned dark and vengeful. "_AND BELIEVE ME, I'M GONNA PUT IT... __**TO GOOD USE!**_"

"KNUCKLES!" Tails shouted in shock and fear. The Great Freedom Fighters had already lost enough good men and women today. It couldn't lose one of its most senior members, not after having come so far!

_**EMERGENCY!**_  
**TIME UNTIL TOTAL COLLAPSE  
00:53:94**

At that point, the gravitational discrepancies between the locations of the Super Galaxy Great Freedom and King Knuckles had shut down all communications, so Knuckles's last stand was lost in the annals of history.

King Knuckles held up Freedom Emerl's Giga Drill.

"_THIS IS TAILS'S SOUL!_

"_THE GREAT FREEDOM FIGHTERS' SOUL!_

"_MÖBIANKIND'S SOUL!_

"_NO! THIS IS __**MY **__SOUL!_

"_DO YOU REALLY THINK IT'S GONNA BE WIPED OUT BY THE LIKES OF __**YOU**__?_"

The Giga Drill bonded to King Knuckles's right hand...

"_THIS IS THE KEY TO VICTORY!_"

_**EMERGENCY!**_  
**TIME UNTIL TOTAL COLLAPSE  
00:38:73**

"**KING KNUCKLES...**"

King Knuckles pointed its borrowed Giga Drill into the air, the drill expanding to five times the size of the Gizoid...

_**EMERGENCY!**_  
**TIME UNTIL TOTAL COLLAPSE  
00:33:57**

"**GIGA...**"

Then to ten times the size of King Knuckles...

_**EMERGENCY!**_  
**TIME UNTIL TOTAL COLLAPSE  
00:27:86**

"**DRILL...**"

Then King Knuckles pointed the Giga Drill at the Death Spiral Machine, the drill spinning rapidly as green energy shot like a twister out of the Gizoid's levi-sphere...

_**EMERGENCY!**_  
**TIME UNTIL TOTAL COLLAPSE  
00:22:43**

"_**DRIVEEEER!**_"

And King Knuckles, faster than it had ever moved before, dived on the Death Spiral Machine.

_**EMERGENCY!**_**  
TIME UNTIL TOTAL COLLAPSE  
00:17:56**

King Knuckles's Giga Drill Driver made contact. And its pilot's last words were:

"So, this is the Power of the Spiral, huh? It ain't half-bad..."

_**EMERGENCY!**_  
**TIME UNTIL TOTAL COLLAPSE  
00:08.52**

The emergency timer had frozen at that exact number as the Spiral Conversion Field turned into a ball of fire.

The waves of nausea, which were now threatening to make people vomit, had now ceased.

The weight inside Tails's body diminished, and so dissipated.

Neither Sally nor Meg did anything to stem the flow of tears, both women choking back gasps of sorrow.

The Great Freedom Fighters could do nothing but gape at could have nearly crushed them to dust.

The Lucus Darkoak Head was the first to regain speech:

"This operation's probability of success was exactly zero percent."

Speechlessness persisted.

_PERHAPS_, Nicole offered, _THIS CONSTITUTES FURTHER PROOF THAT LOGICAL CALCULATIONS ARE POINTLESS WHEN SET AGAINST THE GREAT FREEDOM FIGHTERS._

The Darkoak Head nodded slightly, a mild smile on its face.

"Yes. Perhaps you are right."

A pervasive green glow began to glimmer outside.

The emergency timer faded away.

"What's going on?" Elias said.

Helen gasped.

"It's... unbelievable... an unbelievably large Spiral Energy reading...!"

The Darkoak Head explained, "With the destruction of the Death Spiral Machine, this dark sea is being converted back into Spiral Power. It is the logical outcome."

"You shoulda said that before we got started!" Bean snapped.

The Super Spiral gauge appeared on all monitors, and filled up more rapidly than anyone could have imagined.

"Our Super Spiral gauges are climbing," Rotor said, in awe. "Ten-thousand... A hundred-thousand... _One-million! TAILS! We're ready to go!_"

In Emerl, Tails breathed, "Knuckles... I accept your last wish."

He pulled down his goggles.

"Shadow. Kukku. Let's do it to it."

"Chao!" squeaked Kukku.

And Tails shouted one word, as loud as he could,

"TRANSFORM!"

Below, Shadow smirked. "That's the word I was waiting to hear!"

Swirling through two-thousand years of Spiral Power, the Super Galaxy Great Freedom itself began to glow emerald-green.

Plates shifted...

And the transformation began.

The main weapons platforms on either side of the Super Galaxy Great Freedom's body glowed green, sprouting an arm from elbow to shoulder, hand emerging from the opposite ends. A pair of gargantuan drills - straight grooves down the left drill, spiraling grooves down the right drill - formed from pure Spiral Energy on each shoulder. The main body rotated around, the engines' external turbines becoming engulfed by drills - straight down the left, spiraling down the right - and becoming the knees of legs which formed into lustrous gold from pure Spiral Power.

Inside Emerl, Tails's digging goggles turned into pointed red shades, identical to those worn by Sonic in life...

Then sprouted three more points, becoming red star-shaped shades.

As the chest-face of the new Gizoid half the size of Möbius settled into place, its purple eyes glinting, a set of X-shaped shades appeared over its eyes.

The plates that made up Super Galaxy Great Freedom's stern collected onto the space between its shoulders, forming a head like Emerl, an upside-down five-pointed star forming its crest (giving it the appearance of horns). And X-shaped shades covered its amethyst eyes as well.

Above the former Death Spiral Field, Cosmo stared in joy and awe as the dark sea turned to glowing green liquid, twisters and tornadoes - essentially, drills - of green energy spinning around on the roiling surface...

A cross-shaped beam of Spiral Energy lanced out from the Spiral Sea, annihilating the Kishes and Arasens and Wutthuhs instantly...

And an illustrious golden Gizoid half the size of her home planet emerged, its arms crossed, red energy flowing like tears of blood from all four of its eyes. Green light glowed from the grooves in the four large drills on its body, as though the gilded surface concealed a sunlike being of pure Spiral Energy.

"_Our friend's hopes and dreams are etched into its body..._" it growled in Tails's voice. "_Transforming the infinite darkness into light!_"

**超絶螺旋  
超弩級ギゾイド  
Transcendant Super Spiral  
Dreadnought Gizoid**

"UNMATCHED IN HELL AND HEAVEN!" it bellowed now. "ONE MACHINE... EQUAL TO THE GODS!

"_SUPER GALAXY FREEDOM EMERL!_"

**超銀河フリーダムエメル  
Super Galaxy Freedom Emerl**

Tears of blood spilled from Tails's eyes.

"We're gonna show you the power..." he roared at the twin dragons which hovered over him, contemplating this tasty morsel. Super Galaxy Freedom Emerl lunged at Myst, drills many times the size of Typhoon Giga Drills emerging from its fingertips. "_...of MÖBIANKIND!_"

**つづく  
To be continued...**

**

* * *

**

次回予告  
Next Episode Preview

A super-galactic god-machine given to us by our friend's dreams... But even when trapped in a multi-dimensional hell, all roads lead to the Spiral Path!

Next time on _Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl_: _**"Let's Go, Guys"**_.


	33. Chapter 32

_(Chapter Thirty-Two. Starting this one within hours of posting Chapter Thirty-One. And boy oh boy, this is the longest chapter yet. I wouldn't be surprised if this turns out to be the longest, period._

_Also, I changed the Anti-Spiral's dialogue so that I know for certain that everyone can read it. Okay? I even edited the past chapters.)_

* * *

"This is the tale of a man who blows a hole in the destiny of a universe torn by the endless cycle of violence.

"The Super Galaxy Great Freedom has been swallowed up by a dark sea in space.

"What saved them from being crushed in that graveyard of Spiral Warriors...

"...was the flash of light given off by the end of Knuckles's life."

_仕方ねえ__! __１__分__２０__秒だけ媚びてやる_

Super Galaxy Freedom Emerl's drill-tipped fingers dug deeply into the impossibly large crystal on Myst's nose, fissures erupting along the blue crystalline structure.

Super Galaxy Freedom Emerl clenched its fist, the drills launching off into the crystal and detonating.

The explosions chained down throughout the crystal that would have dwarfed several Möbius-sized planets, shattering it.

The Transcendant Super Spiral Dreadnought Gizoid flew back to a safe distance of about the same length as the dragons' bodies. Pulsating green tractor beams drew the twenty Emerls of the fallen Spiral Warriors in from the diminishing Spiral Sea, into the safety of Super Galaxy Freedom Emerl's docking bay.

All twenty-two Emerls in existence now belonged to the Great Freedom Fighters.

**CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO:  
Let's Go, Guys**

Slayer's mouth opened, and a blast of red energy erupted and - far faster than light, almost faster than time - completely engulfed Super Galaxy Freedom Emerl.

A box-shaped wall appeared around Super Galaxy Freedom Emerl, the blast curving around it perfectly and leaving the Spiral mecha undamaged.

Myst and Slayer's fingertips split into hands themselves, grabbing the planets that Myst and Slayer did not smash upon their arrival, and hurling them at Super Galaxy Freedom Emerl.

Each planet was at least double the size of the mecha.

Each planet shattered harmlessly into rock and magma within kilometers of that golden body.

"What's happening?" Elias asked, shielding his eyes from the burning light of the smashing planets.

"A Super Spiral Shield is completely nullifying the enemy's attack!" Helen shouted over the din.

"OF COURSE IT IS!" bellowed Tails, appearing on the main screen. "As if little pebbles like that... _COULD DO ANYTHING TO HURT US!_"

At once, both pairs of Super Galaxy Freedom Emerl's shades glowed green, flew off of the Dreadnought Gizoid's face, and combined into a double-X pair of shades.

"_Freedom Boomerang!_" shouted Shadow, as Super Galaxy Freedom Emerl took the new pair of shades in hand...

"**SUPER GALAXY...**" Tails roared.

Super Galaxy brought its arm back...

"**MEGA... CUTTER!**"

And hurled them at Myst.

It would have taken light nearly eight minutes to reach Myst.

The Super Galaxy Mega Cutter had already sliced the dragon-shaped battleship in two before Tails had finished calling the last word of the attack's name, and by the time he had finished, the red shades had already looped around in a green arch half the size of Möbius's revolutionary arch around its sun, and returned to the hand that tossed them.

What was left of Myst exploded.

Lower jaws hit the floor.

"Is that... Mister Tails's power...?" Cream asked.

"It's... incredible..." Charmy said.

Before the debris had begun to settle from Myst's destruction, countless faces across the rocky surface of Slayer's back - each the size of a city, and too small to be seen at Super Galaxy Freedom Emerl's distance - opened up in silent screams, each firing off volleys of skyscraper-sized missiles.

Tails scoffed, "Didn't you hear me? Those little things won't—"

But the missiles passed through the Super Spiral Shield as planets and supernova-class lasers would not, and Super Galaxy Freedom Emerl shuddered with the impacts.

"What was _that_?" shouted Elias.

"Unknown!" Helen said, looked baffled. "The Super Spiral Shield is holding steady. According to my monitor, the attack is being blocked completely!"

"Then explain why they're_ hitting _us!" Vector shouted exasperatedly.

"Probability Alteration Missiles," said the Darkoak Head. "They are negating the probability of our Shield successfully blocking their attack."

Cream looked out at the straggling Probability Alteration Missiles uncertainly.

"The Anti-Spiral have weapons that can manipulate _probability_...? But... isn't that supposed to only be _God's_ domain...?"

And then there was light.

Dreadful, blinding, invisible light which threatened to burn out the eyes of those who dared gaze upon it.

"_What...?_" Sally gasped.

_**you would sacrifice one of your own in order to move forward?**_ said the voice from the light.

The voice of the Anti-Spiral.

_**in order to survive, you destroy without a second thought. such is the past karma of the spiral races. and it is precisely because of that karma that you must be destroyed.**_

"Get real!" Tails shouted in defiance. "As if we'll accept extinction over a bunch of meaningless junk like _that_!"

_**then watch. watch where this universe is headed. see the universe destroyed by the power of the spiral, which thinks only of evolving.**_

The light projected an image - not onto the screens within Super Galaxy Freedom Emerl, nor onto fields outside the mecha - but into the minds of all those who possessed the power of the Spiral within this artificial three-dimensional universe.

It started with a single human man, standing in the center of the galaxy.

_**spiral power is the force which binds together lifeforms and the universe. the growth of galaxies is proportional to the growth of life. life developed in search of forms that would let it acquire even more power of the spiral. this... is evolution.**_

Various lifeforms of every persuasion - legs, wings, flippers, antennae - swirled around the arms of the galaxy, the galactic core centered around the man's stomach.

_**a single lifeform is capable of drawing forth the power of the infinite universe. however, no lifeform is capable of controlling such power. that is the cold, hard truth of the universe.**_

The man's eyes and hands began to glow green. As the glow intensified, showing through the man's veins, he clutched his head in silent agony, cracks opening in his skin, beams of blinding green light shooting out of those cracks, as well as his eyes and mouth.

_**the end result would be a loss of control over spiral power, and the energy that erupts from the lifeform's body would become a galaxy.**_

The man exploded outward into an actual full-sized galaxy, each star glowing the same emerald hue.

_**when this spiral energy begins to run out of control, it will instantly spawn as many galaxies as there are lifeforms in the universe.**_

The lifeforms around the man that was now a galaxy became galaxies as well.

The view expanded. This was all happening on the surface of a planet, which crumbled as every lifeform on the planet turned into a full-sized galaxy at once. The galaxies collapsed into each other, becoming so massive that even the light they projected could not escape its gravity.

But this was not a localized phenomenon. Every planet in the galaxy was suffering this same phenomenon, and every star these planets orbited fell into these galactic black holes. These supermassive black holes then devoured each other, causing the galaxy itself to wink out of existence.

_**the imbalance of mass would lead these new mega-galaxies to swallow each other, forming an unfathomably large black hole...**_

And still _this_ was not the only galaxy which suffered such a cataclysmic end. Every galaxy in the universe had suffered a similar fate - some slower than others, some almost instantaneously - and those that did not were being rapidly drawn towards the galaxies that had.

_**and so this universe would return to nothingness.**_

All the life...

All the struggles...

All drawn into the nothingness of supermassive black holes...

As though it had never been.

As though it all meant nothing.

Even the Great Freedom Fighters themselves were being drawn in by the gravity of this impossibly realistic simulation, every particle in their bodies being stretched as thin as they could before breaking off, their bodies bifurcating their way into the singularity at the core of this universe-sized black hole...

_**this... is the spiral nemesis.**_

And suddenly it was over. They were all in exactly the same position they were in when the Anti-Spiral began her revelation about the end of everything...

But tears of despair were streaming down faces wrought with horror.

_**the uncontrolled process of evolution will destroy the universe in a single instant.**_

_**again, i ask you... why does a flower bloom, when it is destined to wither?**_

Tails was despondent.

"No... It can't be..."

Only Shadow seemed unaffected.

"Fox boy!" he shouted. "Can't you see she's bluffing? How can you just swallow that garbage?"

The Darkoak Head appeared in Shadow's eye.

"Unfortunately, what the Anti-Spiral say is the truth, Shadow," said the bio-computer. "Try to imagine what it was like in that brief time you possessed Spiral Power."

In mere moments, Shadow's eyes widened, his pupils narrowing to slits, his jaw hanging open.

"You see, creatures lacking Spiral Power would not understand," the Lucus Darkoak Head said. "But the Möbians of this vessel understand it completely. And Tails... he has realized at an intuitive level, even before the Anti-Spiral explained the Spiral Nemesis. He knows that the Anti-Spiral speak the truth.

"However..." Now the Darkoak Head's tone took on a more forceful tone. "There is one more truth, Tails. And that truth is... that Cosmo is out there, waiting for you."

Tails slowly lifted his head.

There was Cosmo, the hologram of her nude form being analyzed endlessly and painfully for its data. Tears glistened in her eyes, but none fell.

"She is waiting for you, so that Möbiankind - and all of Spiral life - will not come to an end."

Tails's jaw set.

His brow furrowed.

"Yeah... You're right." He grabbed the controls tightly. "You're _exactly right_!"

Super Galaxy Freedom Emerl clenched its fists, and golden drills emerged from every joint in its body.

_**you fool**_, the Anti-Spiral said, sounding somewhere between disappointed and furious. _**you would risk destroying the universe for the sake of a fleeting emotion?**_

"That's where you're wrong!" Tails shouted back. "I'll protect them _both_! The woman! The universe! _Both_ of them! I don't want fear of a tomorrow that might never come to keep me from acting right now! That's how the Great Freedom Fighters roll!"

Smirks swept everyone on board the Super Galaxy Freedom Emerl. The horrible truth was apparent to them, but with Tails back in action, they were able to climb above the despair of their power.

The drills lanced out, but Slayer already retreated into a dark window, which collapsed into itself.

"Enemy reading has disappeared!" Helen called out.

"Be careful," said the Darkoak Head sharply. "They will use a Random Schrödinger Warp to sneak up on us."

Elias yelled in frustration.

"_Have a heart!_ Would you _please_ talk using words we can _all_ understand?"

"The Random Schrödinger Warp manipulates multidimensional probability fluctuations," the Darkoak Head explained. "Utilizing it, the Anti-Spiral battleship will attack as it shifts up and down the time axis."

Elias rubbed his forehead vigorously.

"How is _that_ any clearer...?"

"_Who cares?_" Bean shouted. "Let's just cut loose and blast the crap out of 'em!"

"Understood," said the Darkoak Head.

Every eye on the bridge turned to the bio-computer. Did it _really_ agree with Bean - Master of the Button Mash - on a strategical suggestion?

"Preparing for barrage against all possible points on the space and time axes," it continued.

And targeting consoles burst up out of the floor, computer screens at all consoles rotating around to display targeting reticules and data read-outs.

"I am tracing the enemy," said the Darkoak Head, closing its eyes.

Every drill on Super Galaxy Freedom Emerl's body sprouted drills from their grooves, and more drills came from their grooves. The tip of each drill resolved into a cannon.

"You mean, the _time_ range of our attacks can also be broadened?" Rotor asked.

The Darkoak Head nodded curtly.

It opened its eyes.

"Probability space where the enemy unit exists: near past, -10; near future, +8."

"Will the main cannon work?" Tails asked.

"Leave that to us!" said Sally, plugging a wire from Nicole into her nearest console.

_LINKING UP TO WEAPONS SYSTEMS, SALLY_, she said. _...LINK-UP COMPLETE._

"I don't really care for all this 'probability' stuff," said Meg, sitting at the station next to Bean, opposite Sally, "But I say that we give the Anti-Spiral a message in how stubborn we are!"

"The woman's right!" cheered Charmy, diving into the seat next to her. "Maelstrom Cannon, ready to fire!"

Cream took the seat beside Charmy, "Mega Vortex Cannon, stand by!"

Chris scratched his head at the read-out at his battle station. "Rotor... The gauge is saying something about a 'Planck Time Coefficient'..."

"Just ignore it! Lock onto the targets!" Rotor called back, giving a thumbs-up. "Basically, it means that we can fire at complete random and we'll _still_ get a bull's-eye!"

"_Alright!_" Tails yelled, his star-shades glinting. "Let's do it to it! _Let's punch holes in the past_ and_ the future BOTH AT ONCE!_"

Before Tails had even finished, the drills all over Super Galaxy Freedom Emerl began to fire off beams of pure green lasers, at random intervals, in random directions. It continued like this for about ten seconds.

As soon as each beam fired, it entered a dark window that opened up a couple hundred-thousand kilometers away from Super Galaxy Freedom Emerl.

Explosions of red rock came from these portals.

"Well, how about that?" Rotor smiled brightly. "There's so much energy in our engine, it's like a galaxy's about to be born!"

A singular dark window opened, and Slayer descended from it again, trailing torrents of black smoke, each rock on its body pock-marked with black craters. Its jaws hung slack.

Tails smirked. "They can't run or hide from us anymore."

Outside of Freedom Emerl, a typhoon of Spiral Power was sending all loose objects flying every which way. Lupe only managed to avoid it by using her mobile unit to fit itself into a small cubicle under one of the Giga Drill Spinners - which, incidentally, was built for exactly the purpose that Lupe was using it for.

"_Tails!_" she shouted into her microphone. "_I know you've been hanging in there for a long time! So don't worry about us, and cut loose as much as you want!_"

The extraneous drills retracted into Super Galaxy Freedom Emerl's body...

"_I'll take you up on that, Lupe!_" Tails shouted.

The drills on its shoulders blasted out in flashes of green light, the straight drill docking into a port in the back of the spiral drill, both golden drills with green-glowing grooves swelling to five times the circumference of Möbius, before docking with Super Galaxy Freedom Emerl's outstretched right fist...

"**SUPER GALAXY...**" bellowed Tails.

The godly android pointed its latest, greatest weapon directly at Slayer's open maw, the ultimate Giga Drill spinning rapidly, the engines in Super Galaxy Freedom Emerl's knees firing off tornados of Spiral Energy as it launched itself at the behemoth...

"**GIGA... DRILL... DRIVER!**"

The Super Galaxy Giga Drill Driver punched a hole as wide around as Möbius's sun straight through Slayer, from front to back, before Tails had even finished calling the last word of the attack name.

Behind him, the Anti-Spiral's battleship Slayer detonated, the concussive force of the blast instantly stripping all nearby planets of their atmospheres, reducing them to burnt black husks.

Thankfully, the only lifeforms in this artificial universe were all in either of two places: on board the Super Galaxy Freedom Emerl, or on the Anti-Spiral homeworld of Avalon, which was hidden in a separate galaxy when the Anti-Spiral detected the Super Galaxy Great Freedom penetrating dimensional space.

The Super Galaxy Giga Drill Driver split back into its two drills, docking with the appropriate epaulets.

Tails took a deep breath.

It was over.

Now...

To save Cosmo.

He looked at her, a holographic projection showing the continuing data analysis.

She looked at him, a holographic projection showing the God of Destruction that the Anti-Spiral feared above all else.

They smiled at each other...

And Cosmo faded away.

"COSMO!" Tails screamed.

The Darkoak Head appeared in Tails's eye.

"The hologram's interference has dissipated, and we are picking up a separate reading," it said. "We can jump to where the _real_ Cosmo is this time."

Tails's heart leapt with joy.

"Alright!"

He concentrated on Cosmo and her ring...

And through closed eyelids, he saw Cosmo, locked in place around her wrists and ankles in a crucifixion pose by strips of frozen nothingness, floating in a sea of still emptiness.

"I see her!" he said.

Cosmo looked up at him.

She looked horrified.

"Tails, _run_!"

Then a human-shaped window into chaotic nothing appeared between Tails & Cosmo. It vaguely resembled a berobed human girl, clutching a staff of chaotic nothing, five-hundred-trillion pairs of eyes' glints coming from its blank face.

"What the—?" was all Tails could get out...

Before everything froze...

_**you see beauty in struggling to the bitter end**_, said the Anti-Spiral. _**this must be instinctive to those who are bewitched by the power of the spiral... nevertheless, that is an action which has been repeated time and again. now, follow the same fate as the spiral warriors who came before you, and whose core machines now rest in your hands:**_

A corridor of light appeared in Tails's eyes, and it seemed infinitely more real than Super Galaxy Freedom Emerl, or the threat of the Spiral Nemesis, or even himself.

_**the extradimensional labyrinth. now... spend the rest of your lives, trapped in the hell of infinite possibility.**_

And so, the Great Freedom Fighters went tumbling down into the Extradimensional Labyrinth.

Tumbling down.

Tumbling down...

_多元宇宙迷宮_

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

_._

_._

_._

_._

_._

_._

_._

_._

_raw! raw! fight the power!_

_"Ew, look. It's Tails the Digger."_

_"What's the fun in getting covered in dirt day after day?"_

_"He's always tagging along with that Sonic. Does he have no shame?"_

_"He's gross."_

_"And he smells."_

_"Oh! He's looking this way! Let's get outta here quick, before he_ drills a hole _in us, too."_

The pestering girls had squealed at the innuendo made by the red fox girl at their head, and the orange two-tailed fox boy briefly hung his head in misery at the memory.

But, Tails thought as he resumed his activity - turning the hand drill and lengthening the tunnel he was digging - why was he surprised that no one gave him the time of day? He was covered in dirt all the time, except for the circles around his eyes from his digging goggles, and he rarely had time to bathe because of his constant digging.

Digging tunnels day after day was his job.

When yesterday was, or where tomorrow would be, it all had nothing to do with Tails.

No one cared for him. No one believed in him.

"How's it comin' along, Tails?"

Except the person who had just spoken up.

Just then, Tails's drill stopped abruptly, and he nearly drove his head into the handle. Lifting his digging goggles up, Tails said brightly, "Just a little more, Sonic."

Sonic gave a large, goofy grin. "Cool! _Way_ past! Remember that I'm countin' on ya, Tails. Your drill's the only thing I _can_ count on."

Moments later, the two of them stood in a jewelers, closed for the night. They looked around eagerly at the gold and silver and gems and diamonds and emeralds...

All for the taking.

"This is cool! _Way_ past!" Sonic grinned.

Minutes later, they stood under a bridge, police cars zipping by overhead.

"That went off without a hitch in a way past _cool_ way, Tails!" Sonic said as Tails dropped the two duffel bags heavy with loot and booty on the ground.

By the light of their flashlights, the bags glinted with the gold they'd taken for themselves.

Sonic let out a wolf whistle, sifting through the duffel bags.

"Way past _cool_ work today, Tails! We'll be able to live the high life for a while with this!"

Sonic held out a hand, holding a slender golden ring with a white, seed-shaped diamond set in it.

"Here ya go! Don't be afraid! This is _your_ cut, little guy!"

Tails smiled.

"Thanks, Sonic!"

Later, the two of them had a big meal at the Anima Mangiatore with their recently acquired wealth.

"Well?" Sonic said through two drumsticks. "Wasn't it a _way past cool_ idea to break outta Knothole Village? We're still underground, but we're living like _kings_ here under the Capital, and that's _way past cool_!"

Tails nodded eagerly.

"We'll never have it as good as the Black Arms," Sonic said, lifting a mug of beer, "But as long as we keep stealing their valuables in secret, we can live _way past comfy_ lives. You dig, and I steal. Here's to a lifelong partnership, Tails!"

Tails raised his own mug of frothy water and smiled brightly.

"Sure thing, Sonic!"

_ＰＳＹＣＨＥＤＥＬＩＣ ＳＯＵＬＪＡＭ_

The two echidna kids - a boy and a girl, neither of them older than six - cowered under the pink-skinned human man with dark-pink hair curling over his head, his straight-edge blade, already soaked with blood from another soul he'd fed off of, held over them.

"ThE** pAg**_Es O_f Yo**Ur S**_oUl_S aR**e Po**_WeR_..." he said in a voice quavering with barely constrained power. "nOw..." He lifted his sword up. "**I sH**_aLl_TaK**e Yo**_Ur P_aGe**S iN**_tO m_Y sO**uL**!"

Just as he brought the sword down, and the children screamed...

"No."

Erazor paused immediately, the blade inches from the children, turning to look up the stairs leading to the nearby Doom City park, the moon shining down on them. The children ran off and hid somewhere.

"Nicole..." said the red-haired squirrel-chipmunk girl, wearing a black ankle-length jacket over a yellow fleece shirt, a plaid skirt, and steel-toed boots. "That's him."

"Yes, Sally," said the brown-furred, black-haired lynx standing beside her, dressed in a spiraling purple dress. "There is no question. His soul is now an Afreet Egg. He is not human. Not anymore."

Erazor raised his blade to his lips, a foot-long tongue licking the blood off of the sword, leaving a trail of saliva.

"Souls that have left the human path run the risk of transforming into an Afreet," Sally said levelly, not betraying any disgust at this latest Afreet Egg's actions. "In the name of Lord Black Doom of the Doom Weapon Meister Academy, purge him, and recover his soul."

Nicole offered a half-smile, "What is the matter, Sally? Just as he is not human, I am a Weapon, even if I usually take the form of a lynx." She held out an arm.

Her arm glowed, transforming into the barrel of a long gun.

"The form is not the issue," Nicole said, her entire body glowing now. "It's the _soul_ that matters most of all."

"I know," said Sally, taking Nicole's glowing form and spinning it rapidly. The light burst off, revealing Nicole's Weapon form:

A sniper rifle.

"Mass murderer Erazor Djinn..." Sally glared down at the pink-skinned human. "Your soul... is _mine_!"

Erazor let loose an inhuman roar, two pairs of purple arms emerging from his sides, bolting up the steps and leaping at Sally and Nicole.

"The Weapon and Meister are two in one!" Sally shouted, dodging to the side, firing off a shot of her soul's wavelength at Erazor.

He deflected it with his blade, charging again.

He cornered the Weapon-Meister duo, swinging his blade at them.

Sally ducked.

The pillar beside her was sliced through like a knife through hot butter.

Erazor let loose a rapid-fire flurry of swings.

Thankfully, Nicole's Weapon form was extremely durable, and parried the attacks as well as a sword or, say, a scythe.

But Erazor had backed Sally to the stairs now. His four other arms were blocking her path to either side.

Only one way to go now.

Sally leapt bodily onto Erazor's head, bounding over him.

Erazor was knocked off balance.

Sally landed fired at him again with Nicole.

Erazor leapt into the air.

Sally leapt at him, Nicole pointed directly at Erazor's heart.

"This will be our 99th Afreet Egg soul!" Sally shouted.

She pulled the trigger, and her aim was true. The wavelength of her soul blasted straight through Erazor's chest and out the other side. Erazor Djinn let loose one last roar of defiance, before his body resolved into a red orb of light roughly the size of a softball, partly covered in black hexagons.

Sally and Nicole landed, Nicole returning to her lynx form.

The Afreet Egg soul that was once Erazor Djinn floated down in front of them.

Nicole took it into her hand, clenched her fist, and the Afreet Egg soul disappeared into her body, her eyes briefly glowing red.

"And that's number ninety-nine," Sally said, smiling.

"One more soul, then," Nicole smiled back. "Once I have devoured ninety-nine Afreet Egg souls, and a Witch's soul, I shall become a Doom Scythe, a weapon worthy of being wielded by Lord Black Doom."

"We should report this to Lord Black Doom as soon as possible!" Sally said, running back down the steps, Nicole following her.

The moon cackled overhead.

_魔導師マリーナ_

Kukku flitted onto the bridge from the nearest warp pad. Tails was acting all funny and weird and staring into space even when Kukku blew in his eyes, and so was Miss Lupe, and now that he was on the bridge, Kukku could see that everyone else was just the same as Tails.

Except one.

The Lucus Darkoak Head looked about uncertainly.

"What _is _this...?" it said.

Kukku's ball began to repeatedly turn into a **?**.

Every member of the Great Freedom Fighters was staring into blank space, as still as though they were cadavers.

But the Darkoak Head's sensors told it that their vitals were normal.

"What in the world is going on...?" it said.

A thought came to the Darkoak Head.

"It can't be!"

_**but it is.**_

Kukku's ball turned into a **!**.

A silhouette opening into chaotic nothing shaped like a berobed human girl appeared before the Darkoak Head.

_**it is exactly as you surmise, lucus. these spirals are currently being held prisoner in extradimensional space. they are trapped in a series of universes created moment to moment as they are perceived. so long as they have the intelligence to distinguish possibility, they will **_**never**_** be able to escape, much less invoke their spiral power.**_

"I know you," growled the Darkoak Head. "You're the Anti-Spiral, aren't you?"

_**yes**_, she said, turning to face him. _**we are. and one of us recognises you, head of lucus darkoak. so, the greatest spiral warrior the universe had to offer, is now reduced to a bio-computer? it is clear that your companions will stoop to any low to achieve their aims.**_

"Even so, you defeated me not with any show of force, but with the revelation of the Spiral Nemesis. Me and my dead comrades failed to protect the galaxy from you. So, I am grateful to these Möbians for giving me the opportunity to face you again in battle.

"But one thing you said intrigued me."

_**what?**_

"You said _one _of your kind recognizes me. I can think of only one who that could be. Would your last President be present in your collective consciousness?"

The Anti-Spiral's quadrillion eyes drilled deep into the Lucus Darkoak Head's pair for a very long moment...

Then the chaotic silhouette of the Anti-Spiral resolved into the faintest of outlines of a young girl with long magenta hair tied into a single large braided ponytail, wearing ornate purple robes. The golden staff she clutched ended in a large blue-green gem, and she had blue-green eyes set in round, cherubic features offset only by long, pointed ears.

'I am,' she said, losing the chaotic, ear-bleeding echo of the rest of her race. 'I am Merlina daughter of Marlon Merlin's son. I am the Overmind of the Anti-Spiral, and the last President of the Avalonian race.'

"So, Avalon's populace is the sole component of the Anti-Spiral race?"

Merlina nodded.

'Yes.'

"And... you were the one to discover the terribly inconvenient truth of Spiral Energy?"

Merlina cocked a magenta eyebrow.

'"Terribly inconvenient"? That is a curious choice of words, Lucus. But, answering your question, no. That was my grandfather, Merlin.

'Grandfather was a renowned scientist, and Spiral Power his area of expertise. One day, he stumbled upon the horrid truth of Spiral Power, but his mistake was telling no one; evidently, its scale terrified him into silence. He only told his son - Marlon, my father - when he was old enough to understand, and Father told me... when Grandfather passed.'

Merlina held a flower to her nose, her eyes closed in sorrow for a moment. The flower was not there moments before.

"I knew your grandfather," said the Darkoak Head. "Or at least, my former body did. He always seemed morose when I knew him."

'Because of his discovery of the Spiral Nemesis,' resumed Merlina. 'From the moment Father told me of Grandfather's great mistake, my sorrow at this universe's ruin ran deeper than the depths of the Underworld. Neither my father nor my grandfather had the resolve to tell anyone else of the Spiral Nemesis.' A steely glint entered Merlina's eyes now. 'But _I_ did. Once I became President, I told all the people of the discovery my grandfather had kept from the world. Our own Spiral Power was prodigious, as our population was in the hundreds of trillions, and the planet Avalon itself almost completely mechanised and expanded to several times larger than the size of our star. So...'

"So you sealed yourselves away? Along with your Spiral Power?"

Merlina nodded again. 'And I sent a message of this to the notorious galactic warlord N'Schohmmoxell as well. He was infamous for his ruthlessness against those with tremendous Spiral Power to call upon, and a worthy comrade. He even stripped himself of his Spiral Energy and destroyed his entire Spiral-ridden race in tribute to our mutual cause.'

"'N'Schohmmoxell'?" the Darkoak Head said, momentarily confused, before realizing, "You mean, Black Doom?"

'That is what you call him? If so, then yes. I noticed that the hedgehog in your engine bears his mark: black and red skin, and red eyes. Tell me of him.'

"The Black Arms were spliced from Black Doom's genetic material and samples from Möbians around the planet. The Black Doom DNA was to keep their Möbian Spiral instinct bottled up, and was also intended to prevent their numbers from increasing due to off-duty intercourse."

'Genius, Lucus,' said Merlina, the tips of her fingers becoming transparent portals to chaotic nothingness again first of her clear form. 'But you failed to keep _your end of the bargain - keeping __Möbius sealed, and now you've __**come to the space between the tenth and eleventh dimensions, just so we could finish you off.**_ Merlina - now the Anti-Spiral race once more - raised her staff at the Darkoak Head, the tip glowing blood red. _**you are more foolish than we remember, lucus darkoak.**_

The Darkoak Head's eyes narrowed.

"I must say, though... All this time, you have been very considerate. _Too_ considerate, one might say."

The Anti-Spiral's head cocked to the side.

"Why would you employ such elaborate, indirect methods as the Death Spiral Field, and the Random Schrödinger Warp, and the Extradimensional Labyrinth? If you fought with all your might, rather than taunting us with your scout ships Myst and Slayer, annihilating us Spiral races would seem a trivial matter to you, wouldn't it?"

_**we detected an unknown source of spiral power**_, said the Anti-Spiral matter-of-factly. _**gaps in our analysis could potentially ruin everything.**_

The light was all pretty and it made Kukku sleepy...

But before Kukku's eyes slid out of focus, he forced them open again, and threw himself into the path of the red laser beam that was intended for the Darkoak Head, green flames leaping around the Chao, and the Darkoak Head glowed green and screamed, sending out pulses of green light that touched Kukku, bolstering his stand against the Anti-Spiral.

The Anti-Spiral stumbled back, goggling at the small Chao.

_**what...? the unknown source of spiral power we detected was**_** you**_**...?**_

The green light began to resolve into Kukku's body, whose eyes snapped shut, and he collapsed to the floor, sliding in and out of consciousness - or did he ever leave it? - and then...

Torrents of green flames shot up from Kukku's body as he let out one last _Chao!_, and vanished, the flames forming an onion-shaped coccoon.

When the flames faded, a humanoid figure made entirely of water, a brain floating in his head, was standing exactly where Kukku had landed. His round black shades had been replaced by a metallic visor.

The newly evolved Kukku raised a watery fist, disbelief clear from his body language.

_**it took... humanoid form?**_

"I see," said the Darkoak Head. "You converted your individual growth energy into species evolution energy? But... it should be impossible for an individual to undergo such an extreme transformation."

Kukku faced the Darkoak Head, and his visor doubled as a vocabulator, broadcasting a boyish voice that said:

"It was because of your Spiral Power, Lucus."

"My... Spiral Power?"

The Anti-Spiral began to giggle.

Kukku put up a hand in defiance.

"Get back, Anti-Spiral!" he clenched his other fist, gathering much of his mass into his fist - which grew to three times its original size - and green flames erupted from it as he charged and yelled, "I won't let you lay a _finger_ on Tails!"

And the Anti-Spiral's collective consciousness was shattered, and the conflict ended.

And Kukku put up his fist and snickered in victory.

_Now_ no one could say he was just a mascot.

_進化の錯視_

_**that chao has showed us an interesting phenomenon, wouldn't you say, irregular?**_ the Anti-Spiral said, gesturing to the image of the Chao Kukku lying prone on the floor of the bridge, seeming to flicker with after-images. The Darkoak Head behind Kukku had suffered the same fate, staring into nothing. Beside that image was an image of a watery humanoid figure destroying the Anti-Spiral race with a single punch. _**it has evolved mentally, but that was a fatal mistake. the instant extradimensional space is perceived, it is made real. and evolving to sentience means that that chao has become trapped itself in the labyrinth of extradimensional space.**_

_**the last gaps of that particular analysis are filled in. they will never generate spiral power again. your so-called saviours are finished.**_

"What do you plan to do with me?" Cosmo demanded. "You can't hold me hostage if you think no one will come to save me!"

_**our battle against the spiral races is fruitless**_, said the Anti-Spiral, the entire race sounding very weary. _**we inflict absolute despair again, and again, and again, yet some other fool will awaken in some obscure corner of the universe. m**__**öbius was not the first, and will certainly not be the last. we are, every one of us, tired of this state of affairs.**_

A series of tentacles emerged from the Anti-Spiral's staff.

_**but if we are able to decipher the resistance factors within **_**you**_**, irregular...**_

The tentacles made contact with Cosmo, filling her body with electric current, red data lines appearing all over her body as the tentacles invaded her orifices.

_**it will be possible to determine how best to arrest resistant behavior in spiral races, and even terminate instinct itself.**_

Cosmo gasped in agony.

_**now, we are going to read all of your information... take you into us, and determine the onset of instinct.**_

Cosmo felt as though something inside her was going to explode. The Anti-Spiral were penetrating her body, reading her from the inside out, and it was killing her.

She could not contain it for long.

She screamed.

"_TAILS!_"

_お前の__ＸＸＸ__で天を…_

"We're sorry! We know what we did was wrong! It was _mondo_ uncool! _Forgive us!_"

Tails looked numbly down at Sonic in his shirt decorated in hearts, bowing over and over again before the Black Arms in police suits, guns pointed at both Sonic and Tails. Their latest heist was in a bag labeled EVIDENCE by the nearest Black Arms. They were standing in a foggy valley - Sonic's latest hiding spot - and white metal boxes stretched off into the distance.

"Okay, look! I'm on my knees! We'll do whatever you ask! If you say to bow a million times, we'll do it! We're sorry, we're sorry, we're sorry, we're sorry! So, please, don't kill us! Just spare our lives! We're sorry, we're sorry, we're sorry..."

At this point, Tails was distracted from Sonic's incessant babbling for forgiveness by the nearest metal box.

Its seams were glowing green.

As was an indentation shaped like a drill in its front.

Instinctively, Tails's hand went to his throat.

Something should have been there.

Something important.

It wasn't there.

Somehow, this troubled Tails, even though he couldn't for his own life figure out what it was.

"What's wrong, Tails?"

Tails turned, numb, from the Sonic prostrate on his knees, begging not to be killed by the Black Arms...

To the Sonic sitting on top of that same metal box that had distracted him mere moments before, intricate tattoos on his arms and chest, wielding a katana made for someone double his height, pointed red shades set atop his head, a tattered red cape tied around his neck. He was smirking at Tails.

"You lose your drill?" he said.

The small fox boy gasped softly.

"Th-there's another Sonic behind me..."

"_Dumbass!_" Sonic stood up on the metal box, somehow unnoticed by the Black Arms police force and the other Sonic, pointing his katana to the heavens, pulling his shades over bright green eyes.

"The bad reputation of the Freedom Fighters echoes far and wide in Knothole Village! Its badass leader is a man of indomitable spirit, a paragon of masculinity, a sample of hedgehog perfection!" Sonic grinned widely. "As if there could _ever_ be more than one Sonic The Hedgehog!"

Tails pointed back and forth between the two.

"But, but look... there's two of you here."

This didn't phase Sonic in the slightest.

"Exactly!" he said. "Pick the one you prefer."

Tails flapped his arms like a cuckoo bird.

"But that's _crazy_!"

Sonic leaned down to Tails's level, glaring now.

"Don't you remember? _You_ were the one who was the method to my madness! The one who made my big _talk_ more than _words_! Your drill oughta be totally different..." He pointed at the other Sonic, who was still apologizing and bowing, with his thumb, grinning sadly. "From that pebble over there."

Now he pointed at Tails's heart.

"Your drill is right_ here_! You can't be wandering around in here forever, big guy." He narrowed his eyes at Tails behind pointed red shades. "What's that drill of yours supposed to do, anyway?"

Tails's eyes burned now...

And he remembered.

"Sonic...? Is it... really _you_...?"

And the other Sonic - the fake Sonic, the virtual Sonic - grabbed Tails by the shirt and pulled him down.

"Hey, what are you _doing_?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Tails saw that the fake Sonic had a wide, anxious grin on his face as he forced Tails's face down to the earth.

"_You_ start bowing, too! Bow and beg and scrape and pretend to apologize to get them to turn a blind eye, and we'll get outta this!"

"My..." Tails murmured.

"If they let us go, we can always come up with something else! Look, just keep your head down and apologize, little guy!"

"My... drill is... _My drill...!_"

Tails's hand, digging into the dirt, made a fist...

And.

Punched.

Out.

The.

Fake.

Sonic.

"_IS THE DRILL THAT'S GONNA PIERCE THE HEAVENS!_"

And with his other fist, Tails slammed the fake Sonic into the dirt. The Black Arms did not so much as bat eyelids at this peculiar turn of events.

Sonic grinned, and leapt down from the white metal box, standing beside Tails.

Tails clenched his fist, resting it against his heart.

"My drill is my soul," he said.

Green light glowed from between his fingers.

Opening his fist, Tails had found his drill.

His Core Drill pulsed in the drab light of the fog-filled valley.

Tails knew what to do now.

He'd done it once before.

He inserted the Core Drill into the drill-shaped slot in the white metallic box Sonic was standing on.

And twisted.

The latch unbolted, and the box opened up on its hinge, white smoke and light pouring out. Beams of light shot out from the cracked earth around them.

The light shot like a laser beam up into the clouds overhead. The clouds and fog parted and vanished, showing a sunless sky that was in perpetual sunset in every direction... or was it sunrise?

Sonic looked down at Tails.

"Get going, Tails," Sonic said. "Don't let all the what-ifs of life slow you down. The one thing that you choose for yourself to believe in, _that_ is the truth of _your_ universe."

Tails, who was no longer the small child he had been in this imagination - or at Knothole Village - but was now a tall, lean hero, grinned back.

"Yeah. You're right. You're exactly right."

Sonic and Tails locked eyes.

"Don't forget," Sonic said, "That my universe is the universe that's in here."

He pointed at Tails's heart.

"Sonic..."

"Hey, hey! Don't go forgettin' about _me_!" said a red echidna, sitting on the white metallic box.

A long moment passed.

The echidna's eyebrow twitched.

Sonic tilted his head. "Who are you again?"

Knuckles lost it.

"_KNUCKLES THE ECHIDNA OF THE WANDERING ORPHANS! DID YOU FORGET ME ALREADY?_"

Sonic slung an arm around Knuckles's shoulder.

"Idiot! How could I forget someone like _you_?"

Knuckles looked momentarily grouchy, then shook his head vigorously and grinned again.

"And it's not just me and Knux," Sonic said, gesturing at the beams of light around them. "It's _these_ guys, too."

And from each beam of light stepped Jet, Storm, Wave, Shorty, Chip, Antoine, Julie-Su, Ray, Shahra, Griff, Frances, Tommy, Amy, Shade...

And Molly.

Each they were all laughing, chuckling, chortling, giggling...

They were all _happy _for him.

Knuckles went to stand with the other fallen Great Freedom Fighters, leaving Sonic and Tails some alone time.

"Whoa..." Sonic looked up and down Tails's body. "When the hell did you get taller than _me_?"

Tails smiled. "Wow, you're right!"

They laughed together; softly at first, then boisterously, as they never had when together in the living world.

Tails sighed.

And faced Sonic.

"Time for me to go, Sonic."

Sonic nodded, giving Tails a significant look, "Yeah, and this time, it really _is_ good-bye." He gave a thumbs-up. "Get going, big guy!"

Tails smirked. "It's not _really_ good-bye." He pointed at his heart with his thumb. "You're always with me, right?"

Sonic grinned. "Yeah."

And he joined the three Freedom Fighters who died fighting the Helix King, and the thirteen Freedom Fighters who died fighting the Anti-Spiral, and they all gave Tails a loud cheer as they vanished into the light.

Tails grinned at where they had been for a few more moments, then turned on his heels...

The beams of light now showed him different lives.

An infinity of different possibilities.

_What if I grew up without Sonic?_

_What if Sonic piloted Emerl from the start?_

_What if Sonic hadn't died?_

_What if _I_ died instead?_

_What if the Anti-Spiral didn't exist?_

_What if the Anti-Spiral was really my mother in disguise?_

_What if _I_ was the Anti-Spiral Messenger?_

_What if _Sonic_ was?_

_What if Sally had fallen in love with _me_ instead of Sonic?_

_What if me and Cosmo did not love each other?_

_What if I was an astronaut?_

_What if I was a student at a school in a foreign country?_

_What if me and Cosmo..._

Tails was transfixed this beam of light. He was holding a turquoise-haired baby that looked just like Cosmo, six hydrangea buds on her head, clapping her tiny hands on Tails's cheeks as though she thought her daddy's cheeks were warm and tickly.

_What if me and Cosmo have a kid?_

Tails closed his eyes.

_No_, he thought. _Don't get distracted. Focus on what only you can do right here and now, Tails._

He held up his Core Drill...

And clenched it in his fist.

A green sun was born in Tails's fist.

And the beams of light resolved into a drill at the end of Tails's fist, engulfing Tails's body in light...

And Tails's body resolved into that of Freedom Emerl.

"_Alright!_" he shouted. "Let's go, guys!"

With a blast of Spiral Power from his levi-pack, Tails blasted off, turning from Freedom Emerl into an emerald comet.

Time to collect his comrades for the final battle.

"_Libera me" from hell_

"Sensei!"

The two kids Sally and Nicole saved from Erazor the Afreet Egg ran out to greet them and congratulate them.

"Sensei...?" Nicole pondered.

"But, I'm not your teacher..." Sally said.

"Arigato, sensei!" the boy echidna said, smiling widely.

"Alicia-sensei!" the boy and girl said together.

"But... Alicia isn't my..."

"Your teacher is a much finer lady than her," said Sally behind Sally. Sally spun around, shocked at the sight of another Sally behind her.

Then everything but Nicole beside her turned to static.

And she herself appeared again, wearing a bright-blue dress, smiling a wide, fake smile.

"This year's winner of the Miss Acorn pageant is, once again, Sally!" said an announcer.

But that wasn't really Sally, Sally thought. She was a different person from that.

Static again.

"Fighting evil by moonlight... Winning love by daylight..." said Sally's own voice, as the Sally on the screen cast magical spells while wearing a sailor fuku uniform. "Never running from a real fight... I am the one called_ Sally Moon_!"

But that wasn't really Sally, Sally thought. She was a different person from that.

From _this_.

Static again.

Sally was holding Nicole the sniper rifle in the air, standing in a desert terrain.

It looked rather familiar for a few seconds...

"It's time for Sally Littner, the best shot in the galaxy, to take her turn!" said the female announcer. "She demonstrated absolutely flawless technique in the preliminary round!"

Sally gasped. It was becoming clearer.

This was all wrong.

Static.

Knuckles was taking her hands.

"That dress looks nice on you," he said, with no small hint of lust in his tone as he leaned in close for his first kiss as her husband...

Static.

Tails's eyes were sparkling with boyish joy as Sally admired the white, seed-shaped diamond set into her engagement ring.

"That ring looks wonderful on you!" he said brightly, leaning in for his first kiss as her husband...

Sally reached up and shut off the television in Sonic's arms.

She was standing in the spot where she and Sonic shared their first - and last - kiss.

"Thank you," she said to him.

"Thank you, Sonic," said Nicole, standing next to her. "I never knew you, but thank you."

Green light glowed from between Sally's fingers. And Nicole's.

Both of them were now holding Core Drills.

Sally smiled at Sonic.

"Well, I'm off."

Sonic was giving Nicole a politely puzzled look.

"Who's your new friend, Sal?"

"I am Nicole. I am the recently born artificial intelligence of Sally's weapon. I was intelligent enough, it seems, to fall into this trap as well."

"Cool," Sonic grinned, looking up into the sky. "Look."

Sally and Nicole looked up.

There was a green comet streaking across the sky, through the clouds of volcanic smoke.

And everything went green.

* * *

"See this, Allie? See how Charmy and Cream are kneading the dough?" said Elias, rubbing Alexis's hands through the bread in the bowl. "You _need_ to _knead_ the dough."

"I _need_ to _knead_ the dough," repeated Alexis, the little squirrel girl doing as her daddy told her.

"You're gonna be a great baker, just like your parents someday, Alexis!" smiled Meg, carrying the tray of loaves to be put in the oven.

A green comet streaked through the sky outside. The dough in the bowl turned into a Core Drill in Elias's hand, as did the dough that Charmy and Cream were kneading, and the tray that Meg was carrying...

Aware of their imprisonment now, they ignored the enthusiastic virtual program that was pretending to be Elias & Meg's daughter, clenched their Core Drills tightly...

And everything went green.

* * *

"Dammit! Espio, stay with them!" Vector shouted into his radio microphone.

Vector watched as Espio prepared to make the turn into the alleyway behind them, then - inexplicably - stopped. _"Vector, what's that? Up there!"_

"We've got no time for this, Espio! Sonic and Manic stole my Mustang and—"

_"Vector, _look_!"_

Bitterly, Vector looked to the sky...

And saw a green comet soaring by.

And in an instant, he woke up.

A small drill made of emerald was in his fist where his radio microphone was before.

He clenched it, and Espio did so with his own Core Drill...

And everything went green.

* * *

"Ready for the implosion, Bean?" Rotor called out, a wrench in hand.

"_Implosion?_" Bean said, leaning on the plunger. "Why don't we just do _explosions_ do get old buildings outta the way?"

"It would be _really_ messy," said Ari, holding his lunch box.

"So, you really ready, quackers?" asked Mighty.

A green comet soared overhead...

The wrench, plunger, and lunch box became Core Drills...

The four clenched their Drills tightly...

And everything went green.

* * *

"Board chairman Darkoak, welcome to our school," said Lobo, bowing to the man who wrote his checks. And his wife's. And everyone else's at the Raison D'Être High School.

Darkoak held a pen tightly in his hand, looking over Lobo & Lupe imperiously.

"Now then, let's get this out of the way, you two..."

A green comet shot by overhead...

And Darkoak's pen turned into a Core Drill, identical Core Drills appearing in Lobo & Lupe's hands...

And everything went green.

* * *

It was a windy and sunny day, and Big could hear the faint sound of distant waves. The past weeks had been going so fast, and it was all the same, the bright sky and shining sun.

But Big had a feeling this was going to be a fun day.

Just him, and Froggy, and fishing.

Just as he brought his fishing rod back to catch a big fish...

A green comet shot by overhead.

The fishing rod was suddenly a Core Drill...

And everything went green.

* * *

Bark was having a tough time against this cat-girl. She was a good fighter, even though her black hair was tied into two huge pigtails, and her outfit - a poofy red dress - hardly allowed for good mobility.

Her angel wings probably helped.

But, as far as Bark was concerned, a tough fight was a fun fight.

Suddenly, a green comet shot over the Sunset Town arena, and a green-glowing drill made of emerald appeared in Bark's fist.

Suddenly aware of his predicament, he clenched his fist around the Core Drill...

And everything went green.

* * *

"Chris. It's time."

Chris was so intent on his programming of the portal to Sonic's world that he hadn't even heard his fiancée roll up on her wheelchair. He spasmed, then faced her, standing up from the cardboard box he'd been using in lieu of a chair.

"Oh, yeah! That's right, we're supposed to meet Danny and Frances for lunch today." He bolted around Helen, taking the back of her wheelchair. "Let's go!"

"Whoa! Easy, Chris!" She smiled warmly up at him as he pushed her down the hall. "They know you're always late."

Moments later, they were in their car, and then moments after _that_, they were on the freeway.

"Why don't you let _me_ drive for a change?" Chris asked.

"No way!" Helen teased. "Chuck designed this car especially for me, remember? And besides, riding while _you_ drive is too... nerve-wracking."

"What does _that_ mean?"

"I'm a much better driver. I've never gotten a parking ticket, which is more than I can say for _you_."

"It's not _my _fault someone turned that 'One Way' sign around."

The conversation would have continued, but at that point a green comet zipped by in the clear blue sky above...

And a Core Drill appeared in each of their hands.

Chris & Helen, their unspoken feelings for each other now clear because of this illusion, nodded at each other...

And everything went green.

* * *

Kukku saw a glitter of green light inside his translucent fist.

Opening it, he saw a Core Drill floating at the surface of his palm, and he realized that he had not evolved physically, and that this was an Anti-Spiral trap...

And he looked up at the green comet soaring through the infinite virtual space overhead...

And everything went green.

* * *

"Here, Daddy..."

Shadow smiled warmly as his little Maria placed a ring of flowers around his head.

Then he picked her up and spun her around, his daughter giggling brightly, her dark-pink eyes shining with mirth.

Shadow set her down on his hip, facing his beautiful wife...

But she was looking up into the sky.

He looked up...

Saw the green comet...

And knew.

"Oh. I see."

He set Maria down, and the little girl ran over to her mother, and Shadow gave one last look of mingled joy and sorrow at the family that he would never have.

"I was having a sappy dream, too, it seems."

Sighing sadly, Shadow clutched the Core Drill in his hand...

And felt _power_ within him.

His Spiral Energy was unlocked now. For _good_.

But even if he found a woman with whom he was genetically compatible, being immortal, he would outlive both her _and_ their child.

But that was only a possibility.

Shadow focused on what he _needed_ to do _now_...

And everything went green.

_お前の__ＸＸＸ__で天を衝け！！_

_**your actions are baffling, irregular. why do you resist us?**_

Cosmo was spent. She had no energy left to resist, but she tried to force the Anti-Spiral off and out anyway. Even as chunks of her body vanished, Cosmo held the severed parts in place by remembering where they were in relation to her body.

_**you are a virtual lifeform that was spliced into the genomes of spiral races. when the remnants of a spiral race would rise up in rebellion against our limitations set against them, you would awaken as our messenger. that is your sole reason for being. the fact that you were born to a spiral warrior - and loved by another spiral warrior - is nothing more than coincidence. there is nothing special, or unique, about you.**_

_**it is rare indeed for a messenger to be this recalcitrant. but it is pointless to resist, irregular.**_

"No matter how deeply you probe my body," Cosmo gasped, blinking sweat out of her eyes, "You will _never_ understand!"

_**we do not need to understand**_, the Anti-Spiral said. _**we only need to **_**know**_**.**_

"Then you might as well give up," Cosmo snarled, "Because you will _never_ be able to defeat them!" The Irregular narrowed her eyes at the Avalonian race. "He will come. You can be sure of that."

At that moment, Cosmo's ring - on her left hand which was now floating a foot and a half to her side - began to pulse with green light. The Anti-Spiral's tentacles retracted from the light, which seemed to burn her.

The light pulsed brighter. And faster.

Cosmo smiled.

Tails was coming.

Cosmo set a glare upon the Anti-Spiral and, with a great effort, moved her hand which was now floating in empty space and no longer attached to her body by a corporeal arm, and pointed the ring at the gestalt Avalonian.

A Giga Drill emerged.

Followed by a yellow arm.

Then a yellow torso with a crowned head and a black levi-pack.

Then yellow legs.

Freedom Emerl had arrived. It held a pale-green Emerl in its left hand.

The binds around Cosmo faded, and she fell, the vanished parts of her body reappearing in an instant.

And Tails caught her in his coat, covering her indecency.

And his smile and eyes were full of love for her.

"I'm here, Cosmo," he said. "Just like I promised."

Cosmo's eyes swam with tears of relief and affection and every positive emotion all at once, and she nodded.

They glared down at the Anti-Spiral.

Twenty Emerls - one jet-black with a yellow triple-crest, seventeen pale-green, two gun-gray - emerged from flashes of green light in every joint on Freedom Emerl's body. Drills emerged from their lower torsoes, and impacted in the ground before the Anti-Spiral.

Their canopies rolled back.

Inside each was one of the surviving Great Freedom Fighters. Each wore a Core Drill around their neck.

From the Anti-Spiral's perspective, down the left side was Sally, Nicole (her Core Drill was tied around her barrel, and her screen glowed green, projecting a green-tinted image of a lynx in a spiral-decorated dress), Big, Bark, Charmy (in one gun-gray Emerl), Cream (in the other gray Emerl), Bean, Lobo, Lupe, and the Darkoak Head (its pedestal sat in G-Merl's seat, the Core Drill resting on the pedestal). Down the right side from the Anti-Spiral were Shadow, Espio, Mighty, Vector, Rotor, Meg, Elias, Ari, Chris, and Helen.

Each one had their arms crossed.

And each one wore the same expression of fierce determinacy.

_**impossible!**_ the Anti-Spiral said fearfully. _**sentient lifeforms should not be able to escape from the extradimensional labyrinth!**_

"_Don't underestimate us!_" shouted Tails, Kukku flitting about his head. "We don't _care_ about time or space or alternate dimensions, so they can't do a _thing_ to stop us." He brought his fist up, Cosmo resting a hand on his chest. "Force your way down a path _you_ chose to take, and do it _your_ way! That's how... _THE GREAT FREEDOM FIGHTERS ROLL!_"

Cosmo, wearing Tails's coat to cover herself, leapt down into the Emerl in Freedom Emerl's hand. Cosmo's Emerl lifted off with a blast of Spiral Power, as did the twenty piloted by the other Great Freedom Fighters.

And Freedom Emerl was engulfed by Typhoon Freedom Emerl, which appeared around it in a flash of green light.

And Typhoon Freedom Emerl was engulfed by Super Galaxy Freedom Emerl, which clenched its fists.

And the twenty-one Emerls impacted themselves into various areas on Super Galaxy Freedom Emerl's body.

And with all of the Spiral Power channeled through all those Spiral Power Magnification Conduit Interface Core Machines into a single Gizoid...

An unbelievably large burst of green flames surrounded Super Galaxy Freedom Emerl, expanding outwards, engulfing the entire Anti-Spiral homeworld of Avalon...

Then the entire system that Avalon was located in...

Then the entire spiral arm of the galaxy that Avalon orbited in...

And an impossibly large black knight - with a tall golden crown atop its armored head, a crescent moon-shaped pair of crimson shades across its chest, large black epaulets guarding its head completely from the left and the right, the face of Huenlonix the Helix King's personal Gizoid clenched in the jaws of the face on its chest, and eighteen skull-like faces along its epaulets, arms, legs and feet - burst from the rim of the galactic arm, trailing green fire from its back.

And it whirled around faster than light, as fast as thought, to face the exact spot where the Anti-Spiral homeworld of Avalon was, now smaller than a speck of dust to the ultimate evolution of Freedom Emerl, which itself dwarfed a galaxy as a mountain dwarfs a sand-castle.

The enemy had no chance now.

None at all.

"Even when trapped by the cycle of karma..." Cosmo shouted, the galaxy-sized knight king's head speaking with her voice.

"The dreams we left behind will open the door!" Sally continued, the knight king's right epaulet shouting in her voice.

"Even if the infinite universe were to stand in our way...!" yelled Rotor, the opposite epaulet broadcasting his voice.

"_The burning of our blood will determine what will be!_" continued Shadow, the king knight's chest bellowing his words.

The head spoke again, but in Tails's voice this time:

"We will break through time and space..."

And the entire galaxy-sized mecha clenched its fists, shouting in every Great Freedom Fighters' voice:

"TO GRAB HOLD OF OUR OWN PATH!"

And it turned its head to the infinite universe wheeling with a near-infinite number of galaxies overhead, and roared its name in Tails's voice so loudly that all of existence shuddered in awe,

"**TENGEN TOPPA FREEDOM EMERL!**"

**天元突****破  
フリーダムエメル  
Tengen Toppa  
Freedom Emerl**

"_WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK WE ARE?_" the Great Freedom Fighters yelled.

**つづく  
To be continued...**

* * *

次回予告  
Next Episode Preview

This is the large tale of a tiny man from a small blue planet on the edge of a whirling galaxy.

If you were to start it now, the sun would rise on the next day before you finished.

Next time on _Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl_: _**"Who The Hell Do You Think We Are?"**_


	34. Chapter 33

_(Chapter Thirty-Three! That was some epic stuff last chapter, huh? References to _Soul Eater_, the dub of _Sonic X_, my high school buddy's _Sonic _fic_ The Fastest Thief Alive_, etc. And it's only getting bigger!_

_Well, my aunt has lung cancer and had to have half her left lung taken out, but she's doing fine, and it's just one day after the operation!)_

* * *

_**this is surprising.**_

**CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE:  
Who The Hell Do You Think We Are?**

_**no spiral race has ever made it this far**_, said the Anti-Spiral, their five-hundred-trillion glints of eyes directed on the black knight burning with emerald hellfire - flames of Spiral spirit - with nothing but fear in their gestalt mind. _**when violated with such potent spiral power, it is not surprising that the möbian messenger was made irregular.**_

Tails, Super Galaxy Freedom Emerl, Typhoon Freedom Emerl, and Freedom Emerl itself somewhere behind Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl's left eye, was mildly disturbed. He had hoped that, by forming Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl outside the galaxy that contained the Anti-Spiral homeworld, that the voice would only emanate from the galaxy below. However, the Anti-Spiral's bleak chorus still came from every direction.

A flicker of blue flames appeared from the galactic arm which contained Avalon.

Then a flare which reached the galactic core.

Then an inferno which engulfed the entire galaxy.

_**as you wish.**_

A singular red eye with a bulging black pupil emerged from the galaxy's core.

Four spiny hands emerged around it, followed by black metallic arms with more segments and elbows than any human arm.

The arms grabbed the edges of the great blue fire that engulfed the galaxy, pulling out the ridged torso that connected them, the single red eye clenched in a pair of jaws in the center of its chest, a second and larger fanged mouth below that, which clutched a ball of blue fire within. Two of the arms attached to the demon's pelvis, on either side of a segmented finned tail, in lieu of legs.

And atop its shoulders, a black head, with horns in place of a crown, its jaws hanging open like a predator prepared to devour its prey.

_**we will battle you on an even playing field**_, the great dark queen said, _**using the same form that **_**you**_** find such comfort in.**_

The dark queen hovered before the black knight, blue flames leaking out of every joint in her body. All four of her fists clenched murderously, her three eyes burning with rage.

**あゔぁたー･おぶ･あゔぁろん  
avatar of avalon**

"What do they mean?" Tails asked uncertainly.

Lucus Darkoak appeared in his eye.

"It is their way," he said. "They are attempting to place us in absolute despair by fighting and defeating us on equal terms."

A brown-furred, black-haired lynx in a purple dress decorated with spiraling lines appeared in Tails's other eye. Tails did not know her, but judging from the sniper rifle that rested across her lap, he could guess.

"So, it is a battle to the death between the forces of evolution and stagnation," Nicole said. "Interesting. I feel humbled being part of this."

Tails gaped. As did Sally, her face appearing on a screen besides Nicole's.

"Lucus..."

"Nicole..."

"Your body is..." Tails and Sally said together.

Nicole's hands left the controls to her Emerl, and she stared at them as though she could not believe her eyes. Her hands went to her face, and she said, "Is this... _real_?"

Lucus Darkoak said, "This is a Super Spiral Universe, where thought is given form. This body may be temporary, so I would very much like to join you in this fight."

Tails smiled.

"I would be honored."

"Chao!" squeaked Kukku.

Nicole looked to Sally.

"Sally, I may only be a few hours old, but I hope that this body of mine is not temporary. This is a fascinating experience. For the time being, I would like to fight, not as your weapon, but as your partner."

Sally smiled back at Nicole.

"Nothing would make me happier."

In the Emerl beside Tails's - which, at this scale, "directly beside" still meant hundreds of light-years in distance - Cosmo curled her fingers around the controls, somewhere behind Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl's right eye. Lucus's face appeared beside her.

"Cosmo... I know that I cannot face you as a father after all that I have done, but... you have done well."

Cosmo smiled, bowing her head.

"Thank you, Father."

A surprisingly gentle smile appeared on Lucus's face.

Shadow appeared beside the image of the former bio-computer.

"Have you been awoken from your two-thousand years of doldrums, Helix King?" he asked.

"I am no king," replied Lucus. "Right now, I am but a simple warrior. Just as you are, Shadow."

"Yes, sir!"

And the showdown commenced.

Beings of such size would ordinarily be impossible to move, never mind constructing on the time scales of any stretch of possibility or on the quantities of mass in _any_ given universe. As an object approaches higher speeds, it requires more and more energy. To reach light-speed, it would take a literally infinite amount of energy for even the tiniest particle of mass.

Both sides had more than infinite energy.

The Great Freedom Fighters had twenty-two Emerls - twenty-two Spiral Power amplification machines - each piloted by exceptional specimens of the Spiral.

The Anti-Spiral had powerful probability alteration algorithms on their side.

The two titans crossed the void between galaxies to face each other (the Avatar of Avalon slithering along on its tail).

First by walking.

Then by jogging.

Then by running.

Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl brought back its right fist.

The Avatar of Avalon brought back its left fist.

Their fists collided...

Slid off each other...

And struck their opponent in the face.

Galactic cross counter.

The resultant explosion of force could have smashed Möbius's galaxy to nebulae.

Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl and the Avatar of Avalon were blasted backwards from each other. Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl swung a leg around to try to strike the Avatar of Avalon across the face, but the Anti-Spiral mecha grabbed the leg and, spinning in place horizontally, brought a lower arm around, smacking the Great Freedom Fighter mecha several galaxy spans down. The Avatar of Avalon then swung its tail around like an axe, preparing to cut Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl in two. The Great Freedom Fighters dodged...

And a hand grabbed Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl's foot, hoisting it into the void, flailing it around violently, with the explicit intent of ripping the human pilots apart with violent faster-than-light-to-zero-in-point-two-seconds jerks.

_**Is This All You Have...**_ The choir of the Anti-Spiral's voices had now risen to an earsplitting din. **SPIRAL RACES?**

The Avatar of Avalon hurled Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl aside with a powerful punch to its armored head.

Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl tumbled helplessly through the void, trailing green flames as it destroyed scores of galaxies.

The Avatar of Avalon let out a mad, witch-like cackle, hundreds of points on its body glowing with ornate red filigree, opening fire with killing light.

The eyes on six of the faces on Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl's body lit up green, and a green galaxy-shaped energy shield shielded Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl from the enemy blasts.

But it was weakening rapidly.

Tails grunted in pain trying to keep this shield up.

Sally and Nicole appeared in his eye.

"Leave this to us!" Sally shouted.

"We'll handle this!" Nicole added.

Green light poured from Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl's left hand, coalescing into a familiar shape:

A galaxy-sized version of Nicole's sniper rifle mode. It had helical designs down the barrel.

Sally and Nicole, manifesting sniper rifle controls in place of their Emerls' typical hand controls, aimed the Tengen Toppa Sniper Rifle at the Avatar of Avalon's head.

"Sally, wait! Look!" Nicole said, zooming in on the pale-blue crystal set into the Avatar of Avalon's forehead.

Inside, they could see a small sphere that was still larger than any star that existed.

"Is that a...?" Sally pondered, as she and Nicole pulled the trigger.

The crystal cracked, chunks of it blasting away, revealing...

"It can't be...!" Nicole pondered.

Cosmo appeared on Sally and Nicole's main screens.

"That _is_! It's the Anti-Spiral homeworld: Avalon!"

"What...?" Tails gasped. The Anti-Spiral were _that_ willing to take a risk like that?

_**she is exactly correct**_, said the Avatar of Avalon in the Anti-Spiral's voices, its attack ceasing abruptly. _**we anti-spiral were once a spiral race much akin to your own. but when our president merlina revealed that the evolution of spiral power would lead to the destruction of the universe, we exterminated all those who possessed what we determined to be unseemly amounts of spiral power, and sent the few surviving spiral races fleeing to the far corners of the universe.**_

While it was talking, the Avatar of Avalon began to reach out with its four arms, several directives running through its probability alteration algorithms:

Negating the probability of the nearby galaxies collapsing into the palms of its hands.

Enhancing the probability of those galaxies fitting neatly into the Avatar of Avalon's hands like throwing stars.

Negating the probability of those galaxies being unable to move at faster-than-light speeds when thrown.

Negating the probability of those galaxies flinging themselves apart at that velocity.

Negating the probability of those galaxies shattering harmlessly against Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl's body.

Enhancing the probability of those galaxies slicing through the Spiral mecha like a knife through hot butter.

All to take four galaxies - one in each hand - and hurl them at Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl as it finished the words "far corners of the universe".

But Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl dodged, and those galaxies sliced neatly through two galaxies behind the Spiral mecha, thousands of stars going supernova in an instant.

_**we halted our own evolution and locked ourselves away in this pocket universe. on our homeworld, we sealed away our bodies and any hope of evolution. these lifeless forms are the symbol of our determination!**_

A torrent of blue fire appeared over the Avatar of Avalon's head, showing countless coffins of metal and glass, several intruments registering the life signals of each body. The view stopped on a stasis chamber containing an unclothed young woman with faded-magenta hair and pale, almost translucent skin that showed faint outlines of intricate tattooing along her shoulders and arms: Merlina daughter of Marlon Merlin's son. Ornate purple robes and a golden staff ending in a blue-green gem rested just before her stasis chamber.

For this was the state of the Anti-Spiral race: five-hundred-trillion Avalonians locked in willful stasis, their minds hooked up to create a gestalt consciousness born of their mutual desire to prevent the Spiral Nemesis. Young, old, strong, weak, male, female: all were part of the whole.

Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl lunged.

"You locked away...?" it bellowed in Mighty's voice from its left thigh.

"Your friends and families...?" its left hip shouted in Espio's voice.

"Because you thought you were protecting the universe?" its left shin yelled in Vector's voice.

"That's not nice!" called out Big's voice from its right forearm.

"Take this! And this! And this!" Bark's voice boomed from its left forearm, Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl's forearms splitting along mouthes that ran down to its elbows, firing off its fists. New fists were generated in bursts of Spiral Energy, and those were fired off as well.

"I'll help!" its right arm from the elbow up shouted in Cream's voice, a hail of green spurts of energy blasting out from its upper right side.

"Me, too!" its left arm from the elbow up added in Charmy's voice, its upper left side firing off blasts of Spiral power as well.

"And me!" shouted Bean's voice from its right shin, the spiral pattern inside its jaws opening and unleashing a hail of Tengen Toppa Spiral Missiles.

_**your efforts are futile**_, said the Anti-Spiral, flinging the Avatar of Avalon through the hail of attacks harmlessly. _**this universe is under our complete control. your chances of winning here are absolutely...**_** ZERO!**

The Avatar of Avalon brought up its upper pair of arms, forming a pair of double-hooked claymores with glowing blades the size of the torso of the mecha which wielded them, an eye on each side of the hilt, bringing them down. The Tengen Toppa Sniper Rifle was produced from its back, but sliced cleanly through.

"We'll determine our chances for_ ourselves_!" Tails bellowed.

Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl produced its own set of claymores, each also double-hooked, each also half the size of its wielder, but neither with glowing blades or eyes on their hilts, and Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl let loose a war cry in Shadow's voice as it charged the Avatar of Avalon.

A second pair of claymores appeared in the Avatar of Avalon's lower arms, and the four enemy blades parried the two hero swords.

_**your blades cannot touch us**_, taunted the Anti-Spiral.

And a flurry of swipes, parries, ripostes, and stabs unfolded.

_**no matter how mightily you struggle, you will never achieve all that you hope to accomplish!**_

Blades locked, and the opponents glared at each other between their swords.

_**you have **_**Never **_**understood the consequences of your actions!**_

"That's not true!" Tails returned. "We _know_ about the Spiral Nemesis!"

_**but shouldn't your concerns be more... immediate? why do you fight us **_**Now**_**? that irregular that you are trying to save - the one you call cosmo - is nothing but a virtual lifeform that we created.**_

The Avatar of Avalon actually glared.

_**if we are destroyed, she will disappear with us!**_

**Do You Not Understand?**

Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl froze, and twenty people gasped in horror and shock, faces registering mingled terror, fear, sorrow, and loss. Only Lucus and Cosmo's expressions became stony and emotionless, their eyes closed.

But no one was more paralyzed with doubt and fear than Tails.

"_W... what...?_"

The Avatar of Avalon violently swiped its four swords, shattering Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl's blades with a shriek that made the Great Freedom Fighters' ears bleed.

_**failing to understand even such a basic causal relationship...**_

Its claymores dissipating into blue flame that receded into its ebony armor, the Avatar of Avalon lunged at Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl.

_**You Stumble Blindly Onwards!**_

The two titans trailed blue and green fire as Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl was forced through countless hundreds of unfortunate galaxies that were in its way.

**Why Can You Not Understand That Such Recklessness Will Lead To The Destruction Of The Universe?**

Finally, the Avatar of Avalon stopped pushing Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl, and the Spiral mecha, its emerald flames nearly extinguished now - its drive to battle put out in the most brutal way possible - remained perfectly still.

**How Can You Lifeforms Drunk On Spiral Power Boast Of Having The Same Determination WE Do When You Panic At The Thought Of Killing One Irregular?**

The Avatar of Avalon's face on its chest roared, a jet of blue fire lancing out into the empty void between galaxies.

Then it looked up into the whirling galaxies off in the direction they had come from, and their tone became calm again, returning to a more nostalgiac voice.

_**we were prepared to defend the universe by killing our former fellow spirals, and halting our bodies' evolution. do you possess resolve on par with **_**That**_**? **_**Do You?**

The Avatar of Avalon punched Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl in the chest. The green orb set in the Huenlonix Head clenched in the jaws in its stomach cracked deeply.

**NO!**

The punching continued, and instead of flickers of green flame, spurts of red energy like blood emerged.

_**no no**_** no No No No NO NO NO NO NO!**

The Avatar of Avalon brought back its upper right fist, which swelled to twice the size of the mecha itself...

**NOT IN THE LEAST!**

And punched straight through the upper jaw in Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl's stomach, torrents of blood-colored flames spilling out front and back.

The Avatar of Avalon grabbed Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl by the right arm...

**You Possess Neither Will!**

And tore it in half down its length, red energy pouring out.

It then took the Spiral mecha's left leg...

**Nor Resolve!**

And drove a fist up through its ankle, smashing through bone and rending flesh, flares of crimson energy bursting out of the wound.

A great spiny hand took one side of Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl's chest...

**Nor REASON!**

And tore it apart, tearing the great red shades to pieces.

And so the Avatar of Avalon, the greatest mecha in the Anti-Spiral's virtual databases, began to tear apart Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl, ripping its mighty arms apart, tearing its great legs asunder, smashing its shoulder guards to pulp, tearing the torso in half at the jaws, wresting the Huenlonix Head from the lower jaw and hurling it aside...

**You Use Your Spiral Power To Selfishly Achieve Your Own Means, And So DROWN In It! That Is The Spiral Races' Fundamental Limitation!**

At last, the Avatar of Avalon brought up the limbless torso, leaking green and red energy...

**And It Is For That Reason That We Must ANNIHILATE YOU!**

And tore its head off violently, a final spurt of red energy flowing from head and shoulders as Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl...

The hero of kings...

The king of heroes...

Was defeated.

And as the shattered remnants of Spiral life's last hope drifted through the void, the pilots in their Emerls succumbed to despair.

They had failed.

The Anti-Spiral had won.

Cosmo's life was forfeit.

Möbius would fall.

And as their hearts filled with sorrow for their homeworld, their latent Spiral power activated the Spiral Realm Perceptual Teleportation System and initiated a space-time bypass...

Opening a portal from the Anti-Spiral's artificial three-dimensional universe between the tenth and eleventh dimensions, back to the third dimension.

A pale blue disc could be seen through the portal.

_**interesting. so, that is your homeworld, is it not? the world that you yourself fled to, lucus?**_

The Avatar of Avalon raised its hands.

_燃えてばかりでいいのかい？_

With the Parliament Complex in ruin, the temporary capital building for Sonic City - and all of Möbius - was located around 121 Chestnut Lane - the residence of Elias & Meg Acorn, both off to face the Anti-Spiral in direct battle.

This way, Blaze could be on hand both as Silver's assistant - and, when he needed a lift in mood, his lover - and as a caregiver to Alexis. Of course, it was only three hours since the Super Galaxy Great Freedom had departed to defeat the Anti-Spiral, so not much was being done as of yet.

Marine was hanging laundry out on the line - it was a warm, dry, windy day out - when...

Marine's jaw dropped, and the towel fell to the lawn.

"Mates! _MAAAATES!_" she screamed, running back into the house.

She pushed Ash and Mina, who were overseeing the reconstruction effort from the Acorn residence as well, into Cobar, pushing them into Silver, then pushing them into Blaze (carrying Alexis).

"Whoa, Marine!" asked Mina, speaking for everyone.

"What's the big emergency?" Cobar asked anxiously.

Marine, having pushed everyone outside, pointed to the sky.

"Look! Up there!"

They did...

"What is... that monster?" Blaze breathed. Alexis, who was smiling and clapping her hands on Auntie Blaze's cheeks until now, was beginning to cry at the sight in the sky.

It was a heavily armored, demonic black suit of armor, a single red eye set in its chest, a pair of arms and a sharp, segmented tail in place of legs...

And its four arms spanned out, reaching from north to west, east to south.

"Is... is that...?" Silver stammered.

Mina, pulling out her laptop, paled.

"We're getting a reading from the Perceptual Teleportation System!" She looked at the readings for how large an object was to be expected from the Perceptual Teleportation System...

And gaped, her pupils shrinking.

"It's... it's an unbelievably _huge_ reading! A hundred times taller than our galaxy is _wide_!"

"Is that... the _Anti-Spiral_?" Silver finished.

Straight-grooved drills sprouted from the Anti-Spiral's hands, impaling some things over Möbius's horizon that shot out red, blood-like energy.

And when these drills were brought up, they saw black-gold shreds of armor impaled on them.

And in the Anti-Spiral's upper left hand, the Anti-Spiral's upper right hand closing in upon it with a large black drill...

"_It's got Emerl!_" Marine gasped.

_俺の__ＸＸＸ__は宇宙一_

_**and now we have broken your spirit, your source of strength, at its most fundamental level, man of the spiral**_, said the Anti-Spiral, their killing drill closing in on the severed head of Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl._** it is time to end this.**_

But a drill emerged from the blue gem in the galaxy-sized Emerl's forehead, impeding the Avatar of Avalon's drill.

"Broken my spirit...?" Tails said weakly, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. "Who said anything about _that_?"

Tails did not know how, but he would resist the Anti-Spiral to the very end, and, if possible, defeat them, then use his Power of the Spiral to bring Cosmo back and beg her for her forgiveness for his basically having murdered her...

But before Tails could think of breaking free of the Avatar of Avalon's grasp, a pearl-white drill with glowing-green grooves spiraling down its length, attached to a golden staff with glowing-green helical grooves down its length, thrust itself between the Anti-Spiral's drill and Tails's, smacking the Avatar of Avalon's drill aside.

Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl's head sprouted stumpy arms and legs, a flare of green flame emerging from the back of its head, and it flipped away from the Anti-Spiral.

Tails looked at his savior, and gaped.

The drill was held by a white hand attached to a white forearm, with a golden elbow guard, and a grass-green arm, with shoulder guards shaped like goliath leaves. It had a green torso with a red orb at its core, a white battle skirt with green trim, white legs with green knee and ankle guards, and...

Its head was white, with two blue orbs for eyes, a green motif on the top half of its head, red drills on either side of its head - _like rosebuds _ - and... a curtain of green flames pouring down its back like hair.

"That's right!" the Tengen Toppa Gizoid shouted in Cosmo's voice. "No matter how difficult it is, Tails will _never_ give in!"

**天元突****破  
ホワイトシード  
Tengen Toppa  
White Seed**

"The Tails that I love and believe in, will _never_ let his Great Freedom Fighters spirit be broken!"

Tails was baffled. Wasn't Cosmo by his side when Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl was defeated? Then he realized, that Cosmo had apparently taken advantage of her Messenger capability of _warping_ to leave his side to fight for him.

And as Tengen Toppa White Seed entered a battle pose, facing the Avatar of Avalon, the Anti-Spiral spoke.

_**you would dare to stand against us, **_**irregular**_**?**_

"I was created by you," Cosmo said simply. "That is a fact of my destiny that cannot be changed." Tengen Toppa White Seed spun its staff around, pointing directly at Avalon, in the Avatar of Avalon's forehead. "But I can _resist_ that destiny up to the end!"

Tengen Toppa White Seed charged.

"I'll show you that I _can_!"

And with a great battle cry, Tengen Toppa White Seed dodged the Avatar of Avalon's arms as they attempted to smack her aside, diving on the Anti-Spiral homeworld and preparing to impale it and end this conflict _once and for all_

And her concentration on keeping herself together faltered.

For a fraction of a second, but it was a significant pause.

Cosmo managed to pull herself back together before she would have dissolved into inconstituent pixels, but Tengen Toppa White Seed's impaled the eye in the Avatar of Avalon's chest instead of the Anti-Spiral homeworld. Dark-red blood spewed from the skewered eye as the face on the Avatar of Avalon's chest screamed in pain.

Cosmo attempted to pull her staff free, but a flurry of drills from the Avatar of Avalon's mouth sent her flying away, severing Tengen Toppa White Seed's left arm and knocking its staff aside.

Tengen Toppa White Seed floated helplessly through the void now.

_**how amusing**_, said the Anti-Spiral coldly, all four arms outstretched and launching a score of drills from each hand at Tengen Toppa White Seed.

Cosmo glared balefully at the drills, but the sympathetic pain of losing an arm the size of a galaxy was too great, and she could not do anything to defend herself.

No one could.

One would need about a hundred arms to block that impossible attack.

A chaotic flare of emerald-green Spiral Power appeared between Tengen Toppa White Seed and the Avatar of Avalon, and when the ebony drills passed through it, they emerged from the other end, all eighty of them caught and stopped.

The flames and their chaos came under control...

And a gleaming white torso, forty-eight faces splayed across it, appeared. Two heads, each wearing a highly decorated golden crown, sat on its shoulders.

Fifty faces total.

But the main aspect were the hundred arms emerging from the flames coming from the figure's sides and back.

**天元突****破  
アークヘカトンケイル  
Tengen Toppa  
ARK-Hecatonchire**

"The one you're supposed to fight..." a golden face in the middle of its chest roared in Shadow's voice. "Is _me_!"

The remaining twenty arms flashed green, and black swords with red blades appeared in each. Twenty flashes later, and the four-score Anti-Spiral drills were severed.

Tengen Toppa ARK-Hecatonchire faced Tengen Toppa White Seed.

"Please step back, Princess!" Shadow said.

Cosmo smiled at him over their comm channel. "Thank you, Shadow," she said.

Cutting off his comm channel, Shadow grinned to himself.

"Being able to protect the Helix Princess at the very edge of the universe..."

He thrust his Emerl's controls, his eyes glowing like green suns.

"I'VE NEVER BEEN MORE GRATEFUL FOR A TWIST OF FATE!"

Tengen Toppa ARK-Hecatonchire's remaining eighty arms produced identical black-and-red swords.

The Avatar of Avalon produced its four double-hooked claymores again, the blue flames coming out of its body expanding into a cloud, producing identical tentacle-esque arms, with identical blades. All told, the Anti-Spiral called forward forty-four more arms - and forty-four more claymores - to fight Tengen Toppa ARK-Hecatonchire.

_**This Will Not Work!**_ the Anti-Spiral shouted, their blades clashing against Shadow's.

The four-dozen Claidheamh Mòr wielded by the Avatar of Avalon were much weightier - and much sharper - than the hundred Ddraig Goch blades possessed by Shadow's Tengen Toppa Gizoid. Moments later, all one-hundred of Tengen Toppa ARK-Hecatonchire's blades shattered, becoming a cloud of black and red.

"_We'll see about that!_" snarled the Tengen Toppa Gizoid, leaping upwards over the Avatar of Avalon...

Allowing a blue cannon and four purple rifle barrels to point directly into the Avatar of Avalon's face.

The Anti-Spiral had only just enough time - eighty-seven microseconds - from the moment of registering the appearance of the enemy cannons, to the moment that the enemy cannons fired, to calculate the exact probability change that would need to occur to ensure that, for all the galaxy-crushing power of these two Tengen Toppa Gizoids' attacks, their homeworld would survive. Their gestalt consciousness would not long survive without its bodies.

The Avatar of Avalon's head vanished in a double blast of Spiral Power, reforming moments later around its unscathed homeworld, to regard its two new opponents.

One had a yellow five-pointed star on each breast-shaped protrusion on its chest, the rest of its torso deep-blue, with a purple chassis resembling an engine around its lower waist. Green fire poured from its back, but red flames burst from the back of its head in three ponytails; the two shorter ponytails rested on its chest, braided with beads.

"Prepare yourself, Anti-Spiral!" Nicole shouted from its chest area.

"I won't let Cosmo's feelings be for _nothing_!" Sally shouted from its head.

And it opened fire with two four-barreled rifles latched onto its chassis.

**天元突****破  
エイコーンキャノン  
Tengen Toppa  
Acorn Cannon**

Its companion was mostly pink, with a blue engine-like chassis on which the cannons which took up its arms from the elbows down were affixed. From each shoulder there emerged a score of missile silos. Green flames emerged from its back, and brown fire from its head down to its waist.

"I won't let you destroy my daughter's future!" Meg yelled, thrusting the controls.

And each missile silo opened fire with Tengen Toppa Spiral Missiles, the double cannons blasting away as well.

**天元突****破  
アレクシストライカー  
Tengen Toppa  
Alexistriker**

Under the double barrage of Tengen Toppa Acorn Cannon and Tengen Toppa Alexistriker, the Avatar of Avalon was pinned down.

They could not move from that spot.

So...

A flare of blue fire appeared beside Tengen Toppa Alexistriker, producing a segmented arm like the Avatar of Avalon's four, and the arm lashed out knocking Tengen Toppa Alexistriker sideways into Tengen Toppa Acorn Cannon. The two Tengen Toppa Gizoids fell over, their attacks ceasing.

The barrage abated, the Avatar of Avalon grabbed a pair of galaxies and hurled them at its enemies.

Tengen Toppa Acorn Cannon's right arm turned to green fire, then to a double-barreled cannon that spiraled around itself in a double helix.

Twin missiles launched out, jaws opening with killing intent...

But the galaxy-sized missiles were sliced into four, detonating without destroying the galaxies.

The galaxies whirred into the chassis affixed to the two mechas, finally severing them.

Sally, Nicole, and Meg screamed in agony.

Another two galaxies hurled at them, the Anti-Spiral reasoned, would be sufficient to destroy them.

But two large black hands appeared in twin flashes of Spiral Power fire, attached to a forest-green torso that formed instantaneously, catching the two galaxies. It had two large faces for shoulder guards, two on its broad chest, and two between its shoulders. A pair of drills came from its feet, and green flames raged out of its back.

**天元突****破  
ダブルブルーザー  
Tengen Toppa  
Double Bruiser**

"What's so big about these galaxies?" growled its left head in Bark's voice.

"We've got something bigger than them..." said the right head in Big's slow voice.

"OUR APPETITES!" they bellowed, crushing the galaxies in their fists with a war cry, raising their fists in triumph.

From behind Tengen Toppa Double Bruiser - and Tengen Toppa Acorn Cannon and Tengen Toppa Alexistriker - raced another pair of Tengen Toppa Gizoids; one wide and bulky, the other slim and sleek.

A ring of green fire erupted around the Avatar of Avalon, the Anti-Spiral mecha looking about in bemusement.

Then energy attacks came from all directions. The Avatar of Avalon wrapped its four arms around itself in a makeshift cocoon.

Then something stirred in the flames, and suddenly some invisible force had ensnared one of the Avatar of Avalon's arms, wresting in away from its face.

The rest of the flames coalesced into a black gorilla-like Tengen Toppa Gizoid, with a red stripe down its back and a golden-yellow face on its chest, a small monkey face between its shoulders. It held in its hand a long spiral-design staff of gold which, with a flare of green fire from its back, struck the Avatar of Avalon across the head.

The Tengen Toppa Gizoid floated back and held its staff in a defensive pose.

**天元突****破  
マイティーフィスツ  
Tengen Toppa  
Mighty Fists**

"Before we joined the Freedom Fighters, we were called the Chaotix Brothers," Tengen Toppa Mighty Fists shouted in Mighty's voice, "But now, we're the _Super Galaxy Chaotix Brothers_! Mighty...!"

"And Espio!"

The pressure on one of the Avatar of Avalon's arms let up, and a fierce purple tyrannosaur appeared out of nothingness there, green fire flaring around the drill on its back. A goldren drill came out from between its nostrils, and its tail curled like a chameleon's.

"_WE'LL MAKE YOU REMEMBER US!_" the reptilian Tengen Toppa Gizoid roared.

**天元突****破  
エスピオナウルスレックス  
Tengen Toppa  
Espionaurus Rex**

Its fists swelling to gargantuan proportions, the Avatar of Avalon grabbed Tengen Toppa Mighty Fists and Tengen Toppa Espionaurus Rex and clenched them tightly, fissures of unimaginable scale rupturing their outer layers of Spiral steel.

**What Insolence!** the Anti-Spiral bellowed.

Green pulses of light began to home in on the hand holding Tengen Toppa Mighty Fists.

A lime-green Tengen Toppa Gizoid, flat as a crocodile's head, but with two large horns on either side of the small head between its shoulders, the face on its chest snarling and the flames of Spiral Energy flaring from its back as it raised two microphones.

**天元突****破  
ベクタープライム  
Tengen Toppa  
Vector Prime**

"Alright!" it cheered in Vector's voice. "Time for _Thundering Vee~ee~ee~eee~e~eeee~~e~e~~~e~e_!"

The pulses of Spiral Energy from Tengen Toppa Vector Prime's microphones caused cracks to appear in the Avatar of Avalon's fist, while repairing the fissures in Tengen Toppa Mighty Fists.

Finally, the Avatar of Avalon's upper left fist exploded, and Tengen Toppa Mighty Fists sprung free.

A golden Gizoid resembling a knight's helmet, with a smaller helmet set on its flaming shoulders, each with diagonal slats for sight, drew a pair of Japanese-style swords.

**天元突****破  
オドネル  
Tengen Toppa  
O'Donnell**

"Murasame Swords!" it shouted in Lobo's voice.

The blades beginning to glow white...

"**WHIRLING DEATH STRIKE!**"

Tengen Toppa O'Donnell spun on the spot, the blades turning into razor-sharp particles of light that cut through the Avatar of Avalon's upper right fist and sealed the ruptures in Tengen Toppa Espionaurus Rex's armor.

The Avatar of Avalon's fist shattered, and Tengen Toppa Espionaurus Rex sprung out, falling back beside Tengen Toppa Mighty Fists.

Lobo grinned in his cockpit. "Can't let you do that, Anti-Spiral."

Vector held the cigarette in between two fingers, addressing the two on the monitor beside him.

"Okay! You ready, you two?"

"Yes, Mister Vector!" Cream said cheerily, taking her Emerl's controls. "We're ready here!"

"And we're not gonna lose to 'em, either!" Charmy grinned.

The Tengen Toppa Gizoid that emerged from a flare of Spiral Power now was colored orange down the left side, and cream down the right. It had a simple yellow crown on its head, two triangle-shaped eyes on its chest, and generally resembled a streamlined Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl.

**天元突****破  
フレメラルド  
Tengen Toppa  
Fremerald**

The galaxy-sized Fremerald produced a Tengen Toppa Spiral Handgun in its left hand and a Tengen Toppa Spiral Rifle in its right.

The Avatar of Avalon raised its upper arms, forming fists larger than normal at the end.

_**You **_**Little...!**

But Tengen Toppa Fremerald tore off in a blast of emerald fire, buzzing about the Avatar of Avalon and firing at it with both weapons, dodging the Anti-Spiral mecha's flailing arms and remaining just outside of striking distance...

Before rejoining the other Tengen Toppa Gizoids, and all of them opened fire. (Tengen Toppa Acorn Cannon and Tengen Toppa Alexistriker, their chassis severed, settled for a Tengen Toppa Sniper Rifle and a Tengen Toppa Spiral Bomber, respectively.)

The Avatar of Avalon was hard-pressed defending itself against such raw fighting spirit. Where had all this come from? Was this... because of the Irregular...?

_**we told you**_** that It Is Futile!**

But cannonfire came from another direction.

All Tengen Toppa Gizoids were accounted for.

So...

What was...

The Avatar of Avalon turned...

And saw a Tengen Toppa Gizoid far larger than any other.

A golden dragon with purple eyes, five nostrils, and purple drills over its eyes.

And a golden-yellow horned figure riding on its back, a flag of Spiral Power held in its right hand that bore the mark of the Great Freedom Fighters, a golden sword greatly resembling Great Freedom's prow held in its left.

The now-nonexistent Great Freedom, astride a dragon-shaped Super Galaxy Great Freedom.

**天元突****破  
グレイトフリーダム  
Tengen Toppa  
Great Freedom**

"_Yoo-hooo~o!_" it cried in Bean's voice, the Tengen Toppa Great Freedom circling around the Avatar of Avalon and joining its allies.

Tengen Toppa Great Freedom's torso opened its mouth, and a thicket of missiles emerged.

"Take this! And this! And this! And _thiii~is_!" Bean shouted.

**It Will Not Work!** shouted the Anti-Spiral.

The missiles _were_ firing wildly, none of them aiming for the Anti-Spiral.

But as each one reached the point it was supposed to detonate at, it seemed to just _disappear_, and then explosions wracked the Avatar of Avalon's body.

Rotor recognized this phenomenon.

And smiled.

"Hurling the Anti-Spiral's own Probability Alteration Missiles back at them?" he quipped from his Emerl. Every one of them was in an Emerl of their own in a room greatly resembling the Super Galaxy Great Freedom's No. 1 Bridge.

"That takes some real guts, Bean!" Chris chuckled.

"Good thinking," Helen said, surprised that she was saying those words to _Bean _of all people.

"Sure!" Bean grinned. "When it comes to spacey interruptions and pinpoint accuracy, I'm your man!"

"Tengen Toppa Spiral Engine, activate!" Lupe said, smiling.

Down below, in the Tengen Toppa Spiral Engine, the former Lucus Darkoak Head clenched the controls of G-Merl, green energy pouring out easily. "Tengen Toppa Spiral Engine, activated," he said.

Elias clasped his Emerl's controls. "Alright, let's go, Ari!"

"Got it!" Ari replied, saluting, then following suite.

"**SUPER-DIMENSIONAL ANCHOR!**" Elias and Ari shouted together.

The purple drills over Tengen Toppa Great Freedom's eyes launched forth, trailing lines of green energy, wrapping themselves about the Avatar of Avalon's torso tightly, the two violet-colored drills locking together on the Avatar of Avalon's back.

Tengen Toppa Great Freedom took the rope in its arms, and swung the Avatar of Avalon about, smashing it through galaxies unceremoniously.

"**'I'VE GOT THE BEST WIFE IN THE UNIVERSE' SWING!**"

Meg - and Tengen Toppa Alexistriker - blushed furiously, placing a hand to their cheeks, chuckling, "You dummy."

Finally, a galaxy-shaped energy shield appeared, summoned by Tengen Toppa Great Freedom's, but for a different purpose than Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl:

So that its enemy had something more solid than a galaxy to crash into.

The Avatar of Avalon smashed against it painfully, cracks appearing all over its body. One of its horns actually cracked off.

Down on Möbius, the three million people watching this spectacle unfold cheered.

The severed head of Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl hovered at the front of the group, its pilot Tails stunned by just how _awesome_ that whole thing was that, just because Cosmo stood up, everyone else did.

**天元突****破  
エメル  
Tengen Toppa  
Emerl**

"Thank you, Tails," said Cosmo, appearing in Tails's eye. "You came so far to save me. I am happy with just that."

And she looked at him, and she smiled, and she had nothing but love in her gaze.

But Tails...

"Cosmo..."

She knew better than anyone that her life would be forfeit if she continued the fight. But still, she went on... Tails could only admire her spirit... But... if she went on...

Tails did not know what to do.

Except to cry.

"Tails..." Cosmo continued. "You came all this way so that you could finally do what you had to do. Isn't that right?"

Tails's burning eyes began to burn, not with tears, but with a pure gold light.

Tengen Toppa Emerl's flames reached higher than any other Tengen Toppa Gizoid's, even Tengen Toppa Great Freedom's.

"Yeah... You're right," Tails said to Cosmo.

Then he faced the Avatar of Avalon.

Just another ugly enemy to crush.

Cosmo would let him bring her back later. That's what this was about.

"Do you see, Anti-Spiral?" shouted Tengen Toppa Emerl in Tails's voice. "This is my resolve, and the resolve of the _Super Galaxy Great Freedom Fighters_! We'll say it as often as it takes!"

And the Tengen Toppa Gizoids roared in the Super Galaxy Great Freedom Fighters' voices, in a single voice that shook the entire Anti-Spiral dimension:

"_**WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK WE ARE?**_"

The Anti-Spiral bellowed furiously, the entire half-a-quadrillion of their race letting loose a mad roar as they were faced with such an indomitable Spiral race. The blue flames burning within the Avatar of Avalon now burned blood-red.

But when they spoke again, they were calm.

Murderously calm.

_**to think you could manifest spiral energy within our closed-off universe. so... that is how you were able to escape the extradimensional labyrinth.**_

_**but... **_**This Isn't Over Yet!**

The Avatar of Avalon attempted to reach out and crush Tengen Toppa Emerl, but Tails's Tengen Toppa Gizoid produced a silver drill from its fist and punched a hole through the Avatar of Avalon's palm.

"Of course it isn't!" Tails shouted.

Rotor appeared in Tails's eye.

"Tails! In the Tengen Toppa Spiral Engine!"

"What?" Tails asked.

Rotor's image was replaced with a golden figure, its shoulder guards closed over its headless shoulders, its red shades intact, its arms and legs producing galaxy-sized Giga Drills, a blood-red cape flowing down its back... the Huenlonix Head clenched between its jaws...

**天元突****破  
フリーダム  
Tengen Toppa  
Freedom**

"Ah! I gotcha!" Tails said.

Tengen Toppa Emerl's legs retracted, replaced with a great drill.

"**Tengen Toppa Emerl... IMPACT!**"

And, its green flames becoming a comet, Tengen Toppa Emerl shot like a bullet down Tengen Toppa Great Freedom's gullet.

With a twitch of Lucus's will, Tengen Toppa Freedom pulled its arms and legs free, its shoulder guards moving aside as it blasted towards Tengen Toppa Emerl.

They impacted.

Gold darkened nearly to black along Tengen Toppa Freedom's body, its arms and legs lengthening, and its cape turning into a mane of emerald fire.

"**Universal Combining!**" Tails and Lucus roared in unison. "**TENGEN TOPPA FREEDOM EMERL!**"

Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl, reborn, put its right fist in the air as Tails yelled...

"**TENGEN TOPPA...**"

A silver drill five times the size of Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl emerged from its right fist, pointing itself out the direction that Tengen Toppa Emerl came...

"**GIGA DRILL DRIVER!**"

The Tengen Toppa Giga Drill spun wildly, the green flames bursting from Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl's back showering the Tengen Toppa Spiral Engine with power as it shot back out of Tengen Toppa Great Freedom's mouth...

"_EAT THIS!_" Tails shouted.

**NEVER!** cried the Anti-Spiral, producing an identical Giga Drill, save for the straight grooves down its length and its black colorization, and thrusting it at the Tengen Toppa Giga Drill.

The drills shattered on contact with each other.

Each produced another from opposite arms.

But these drills shattered against each other as well.

_**you would go on fighting, even knowing what you know now?**_

"Of course we would!" Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl shouted in Tails's voice, forcing more Spiral Power into this next Tengen Toppa Giga Drill. Sweat dripped down his face as he forced more and more into this, to keep it from shattering against the Avalon Giga Drill. "The future we're trying to grab for ourselves... is _not _the future _you_ set out for us!"

The Tengen Toppa Giga Drill shattered, as did the Avalon Giga Drill.

Tails produced yet another Giga Drill from Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl's opposite arm, while the Avatar of Avalon produced a pair of Avalon Giga Drills from its lower pair of arms.

"It's the future we chose, that we chose for ourselves!" Tails persisted, despite the strain of having to hold back two Avalon Giga Drills. "Our tomorrow, one out of all the infinite universes!"

As he spoke, the Avatar of Avalon brought back its top two arms, each of which produced a third and fourth Giga Drill. With a crash that shook hundreds of galaxies apart, the number of Avalon Giga Drills pressing down on Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl's one doubled.

But the Super Galaxy Great Freedom Fighters' ultimate mecha, the king of heroes, the hero of kings, was _advancing, pushing the Anti-Spiral back_!

"We'll keep moving forward!" Tails bellowed. "We'll keep fighting, and protect the universe, no matter what! We'll stop the Spiral Nemesis, too!"

This proclamation, more than anything, broke the Anti-Spiral's cool.

**YOU CAN'T POSSIBLY DO ALL THAT!**

The Avalon Giga Drills shattered, one after the other.

"Just watch us!" Tails yelled, bringing the Tengen Toppa Giga Drill back and socking the Avatar of Avalon with his other fist. The Avatar of Avalon reeled back.

On Avalon, the Anti-Spiral's gestalt consciousness was beginning to fray. Their trillions of minds were becoming unsettlingly dissonant from each other, something no Spiral race had ever done in their two-thousand years.

They had to finish this quickly and get time to settle down.

_**such haughtiness coming from a lowly life form that we kept suppressed!**_

The Avatar of Avalon retreated to a safe distance of three billion light-years and grabbed another four galaxies, but instead of hurling them at the Super Galaxy Great Freedom Fighters...

_**We Will Make You... **_**REGRET YOUR ARROGANCE!**

It crashed them together and compressed their energy tightly inwards into a singular space smaller than a hydrogen atom, and the resultant ball of energy was infinitely brighter than the sun, and no one could look on it even with their light compensators at full output.

"I'm picking up an unfathomably large energy reading!" Chris cried from the Tengen Toppa Great Freedom.

"It's on par with the birth of the universe!" Rotor added, sweating nervously.

"It's... almost like..." Helen stammered.

"The Big Bang...!" Tengen Toppa Acorn Cannon gasped in Nicole's voice.

"And they're gonna hit us with that...?" Tengen Toppa ARK-Hecatonchire said in a shaky Shadow's voice.

The Avatar of Avalon clenched both of its jaws - several teeth snapped from the force - and brought its four arms over its head...

**INFINITY... BIG BANG... STORM!**

And thrust the ball of energy at the Super Galaxy Great Freedom Fighters, the inferno blazing in a straight beam of rainbow-colored energy from the Avatar of Avalon's hands. The Tengen Toppa Gizoids' pilots each contributed to raising a singular shield of Spiral Power...

But it was not enough.

The Infinity Big Bang Storm broke through like it was nothing, and when it flared out past the Tengen Toppa Gizoids, it split apart into countless millions of galaxies.

_**BURN IN THE EVERLASTING HELLFIRE OF THE UNIVERSE'S GENESIS! BECOME UTTERLY ANNIHILATED,**_** DOWN TO THE VERY LAST! SCRAP! OF! DNA!**

The Tengen Toppa Gizoids were breaking apart under the universe-creating energy.

"Hang in there, Cream!" Charmy grunted through his comm with Cream, in the right half of Tengen Toppa Fremerald.

"You too, Charmy!" Cream fought back tears of pain as she returned Charmy's sentiments to said bee in the left half of Tengen Toppa Fremerald.

"_Ahh, FUCK!_" Tails shouted, clenching the controls of Emerl tightly. But, no matter how hard he tried, the Tengen Toppa Spiral Shield would not unfurl again.

"This is bad!" Lupe grunted. "We can't take much more of this!"

_インフィニティ・ビッグバン・ストーム_

The current most powerful people on Möbius stood outside of 121 Chestnut Lane, gazing up at the twister of seven-colored energy that was threatening to tear the Freedom Fighters apart.

"Tails..." Marine breathed.

"Knuckles..." gasped Blaze.

"Rotor..." Cobar sighed, clasping his hands in prayer.

"Don't give up!" Silver was clenching the front railing like a lifeline, and he had never looked more determined in his life. "It looks bad, but it'll take more than _this _to finish them!"

**つづく  
To be continued...**

* * *

次回予告  
Next Episode Preview

All the fighting spirit in the universe doesn't matter in the ultimate fight in the universe...

If you don't believe in yourself and your comrades.

Next time on _Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl_: _**"Try Believing In Us Spiral Races"**_.


	35. Chapter 34

_(Chapter Thirty-Four! Some Tengen Toppa Festival last chapter, huh? How could it possibly get any bigger?_

_We'll just have to see!)_

* * *

All about Möbius, people cheered on the Super Galaxy Great Freedom Fighters. Mace and Demi-Na and Rutan and all their classmates - along with their principal Hawking - sent their best wishes to Miss Alicia up there in the battle. Rouge, Breezie, and Sara of the surface-based Galaxina Village gave their prayers to Lady Cosmo alongside their fellow villagers. Venice the mink from Galahad Village, his wife, and their daughter and two sons clasped their hands in reverence of the greatest Face Gods of all in their battle against the Skull Devil. Ivo Robotnik, former chief of Knothole Village, and proprietor of the now-wrecked Ivo's Steakhouse, clenched his fists in determination as he gazed up at the battle through his bifocals. The red fox girl, Fiona, and her posse from Knothole Village gave their best wishes to the fox boy they had so mocked seven years before. Even the criminals of Marble Prison who had mocked Tails in such mean spirits sent their best wishes up to that two-tailed fox, and his Super Galaxy Great Freedom Fighters.

Across the planet, three million people set their will against the Anti-Spiral.

**CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR:  
Try _Believing_ In Us Spiral Races**

"Not yet!" Tails grunted, trying in vain to hold back the flow of universal energy from the Infinity Big Bang Storm attack. Cracks appeared in his star-shaped shades as he strained himself. "We're not done yet...!"

Lucus appeared in Tails's eye.

"Tails!" he growled. "Leave this to me!"

And Tengen Toppa Freedom's jaws snapped open.

The Huenlonix Head, trailing Spiral Power behind it, sprouted a long, silver chin, its horns elongating significantly as it left the reach of Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl. A thin dark-purple torso with spines along its shoulder guards, a green drill rather than a green orb in the middle of its chest, just over a fang-filled maw. Spiny arms and legs appeared, a black cape trailing from each shoulder guard, and as its arms crossed, a shout of green flame burst from its back.

For the first time in two-thousand years, Lucus Darkoak's Spiral Energy burned green instead of red.

**天元突****破  
ホゥエンロニックス  
Tengen Toppa  
Huenlonix**

"_**TENGEN TOPPA HUENLONIX... OVERLOAD!**_"

Its jaws burst open, revealing blocky red teeth, and the newly born Tengen Toppa Gizoid tore off through the Anti-Spiral's attack, its own Tengen Toppa Spiral Shield blocking the attack where the others had failed, dark-purple drills as thin as needles emerging from every joint on its body.

And then Tengen Toppa Huenlonix deactivated its shield, its drills converging to a single point that held the Infinity Big Bang Storm back.

But the drills were already cracking, the immaculate black capes trailing from its shoulders fraying.

"_Father!_" cried Tengen Toppa White Seed.

Lucus's face was twisted in glee, his eyes glowing a very bright green.

"Do not grieve for me, daughter," said the former bio-computer. "My soul once drowned in a sea of despair and weariness for two-thousand years, but has _now been reawakened!_ If the life of this temporary body can create a tomorrow for all Spiral life, _then I will gladly give it!_"

Cosmo, eyes shining with horror at watching her father die twice in her life...

Nodded slowly.

"Yes. I understand completely."

The Avatar of Avalon's attack was diminishing.

_**YOUR DEATHS WILL BE FOR NOTHING!**_ the Anti-Spiral shrieked, clenching its four hands tightly, funnelling the rest of its Infinity Big Bang Storm attack at Tengen Toppa Huenlonix. _**Now, **_**PERISH**_**!**_

Tengen Toppa Huenlonix broke apart rapidly, starting with its drills, working down to its hands and feet, the next closest to the blast, then its arms and legs, then its torso and shoulders, and finally, its head.

"Tengen Toppa Huenlonix..." Helen cried out. "It's undergoing _quantum breakdown_!"

But Lucus's face did not show any signs of fear or loss. Rather, _jubilance_.

"That's what I was _WAITING FOR!_"

And Lucus Darkoak - and G-Merl - were gone from the universe.

The last burst of the Infinity Big Bang Storm crashed down on Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl once more...

Turning to one color.

_Green._

_The green of Spiral Power!_

_**impossible!**_ said the Anti-Spiral, no small amount of fear in their voices. _**he allowed himself to undergo quantum breakdown so that he could convert the energy?**_

The four galaxies' worth of Spiral Power converted into a drill twice the size of Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl, and Tails could have sworn he heard one last echo of Lucus's voice screaming _Tails, take it!_

_I will..._ he thought. _Lucus... No... Father... Let's do this _together_!_

Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl took the drill, and it flew into Tengen Toppa Freedom's maw...

And Tails never felt more energized in his life.

He _had _to share this!

The green flames coming from Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl's back became emerald drills, and each lanced out, thin as a needle, impaling the Tengen Toppa Gizoids.

And everyone felt a rush of the desire to move forward, inexorably, to godhood.

"_This energy is...!_" Rotor shouted over the open comm channel from Tengen Toppa Great Freedom.

"_My father's dying wish!_" Cosmo's voice rang from Tengen Toppa White Seed.

"_ALRIGHT!_" Tails bellowed for all Super Galaxy Great Freedom Fighters to hear. "_Everyone! Let's do the old YOU-KNOW-WHAT!_"

"_Do what?_" asked everyone else - except for Shadow, Sally, Elias, Meg, Rotor, and Nicole.

The former five were present when ARK attacked Acorn Village, and Nicole was programmed about what happened then by Sally.

"_It should be obvious what I mean!_" Tails roared, a golden light overtaking his body. "_**WE'RE GONNA COMBINE!**_"

The golden flames expanded outwards from Tails, engulfing Emerl and the empty Freedom, then Typhoon Freedom Emerl, then Super Galaxy Freedom Emerl, then Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl.

Each and every one of them broke down at the subatomic level, becoming the most pure form of Spiral Energy in the universe.

Its color changed to gold.

The green drills that were coming out of Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl's back became golden-yellow as well, turning the Tengen Toppa Gizoids into their own subatomic Spiral constituents, every person and mecha within becoming part of a larger whole, transcending what they once were.

Becoming beings of pure Spiral Power.

The blazing green flames of Spiral Energy turned golden-yellow...

The Tengen Toppa Gizoids merged into a single ball of gold fire...

Which burst outward into a hedgehog-shaped figure of golden flames with spiky red shades and a billowing red cape, which dwarfed the galaxies as a Gizoid dwarfed a speck of dust back on Möbius.

_**what in the world...?**_ the Anti-Spiral said, at a complete loss for coherent words. _**how could you possibly control such prodigious quantities of spiral power?**_

The universe-sized hedgehog of pure Spiral Power crossed His arms and looked down on the Avatar of Avalon, as though pondering how to squash it.

_**inconceivable! **_the Anti-Spiral exclaimed.

And the transcendent being before it spoke, shaking the heavens.

**We evolve beyond the person we were a minute before**, said He in Tails's voice, an ethereal echo behind his words.

**ス****ー****パ****ー****天元突****破  
フリーダムエメル  
Super Tengen Toppa  
Freedom Emerl**

**Little by little**, he continued, **we advance a little further with each turn. That's how a DRILL works!**

By this point, the Anti-Spiral were wrathful beyond the comprehension of human minds, and just as fearful. At the very least, this solidified their singular resolve once more, even if the level of their anger would have crushed a human mind with madness.

If something of that level of Spiral Power, something that breached the dimensions above and below it just from existing, returned to the third dimension, it would be disastrous.

Match them move for move and finish it quickly.

**THAT IS THE PATH THAT LEADS TO EXTINCTION!**

(If the pilots of Super Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl had still been physical beings, their heads would have exploded under the force of the Anti-Spiral's shout.)

Beneath the Avatar of Avalon, a pool of blue flames began to spread out from beneath, carrying the red-burning Anti-Spiral mecha upwards and above the head of Super Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl.

_**Why Can't You See The Limitation...**_

The torrents of cobalt fire coalesced into a cohesive shape: a cherub-faced girl in Her mid-teens, composed entirely of blue hellfire, save Her red flaming hair flailing wildly behind Her, and Her flaming red eyes. In the middle of Her forehead burned a red jewel which contained the true Avatar of Avalon. She held a staff in one hand and wore billowing robes.

**ぐらんど･あゔぁたー･おぶ･あゔぁろん  
grand avatar of avalon**

And She brought Her right hand up as though to catch a falling flower pedal...

**...OF THE SPIRAL RACES?**

...and a drill of blue fire with straight grooves down its length appeared over Her right forearm, and the Grand Avatar of Avalon thrusted it at Super Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl.

This universe isn't big enough for the two of us.

Super Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl brought up His own right arm lazily, and a golden drill of pure Spiral Power emerged and brought the Grand Avatar of Avalon's blue drill to a halt.

**No, that's **_**your **_**limitation! **Tails said, and his face appeared momentarily behind Super Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl's shades. **You sit here in your closed-off universe, locking away other lifeforms like you're some kind of king or queen! That's **_**nobody's**_** limitation but your OWN!**

**He's right! **came Sally's voice. **We ****Möbians used to have someone much greater than us! For his sake **_**alone**_**, WE WILL MOVE FORWARD!**

**The spirit of Spiral beings is **_**limitless**_**!** came Cosmo's voice as well. **I've staked **_**everything**_** on its greatness as well!**

The blue and golden drills shattered against each other.

_**Take this!**_ Tails bellowed, Super Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl flipping to a distance of ten billion light-years... _**Finishing Move!**_

**WE WILL MATCH YOU MOVE FOR MOVE! **the Anti-Spiral screamed in return.

_**SUPER TENGEN TOPPA...**_

_**grand avalon...**_

Super Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl pointed His right hand to the heavens that He pierced by existing, as the Grand Avatar of Avalon raised Her staff in Her left hand...

_**GIGA...**_

_**Giga...**_

And a drill of golden energy ten times larger than Super Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl emerged from His right fist, at the same moment that a cold-blue fire drill of the same proportions emerged from the Grand Avatar of Avalon's staff...

_**DRILL...**_

**Drill...**

And Super Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl pointed His drill at Grand Avatar of Avalon, and She mirrored His move...

_**DRIVER!**_

**DRIVER!**

And the two godly beings launched themselves at each other.

The resultant explosive force of the twin universe-sized Giga Drills colliding sent stars flying to the ends of the universe at a speed far exceeding that of light, rending the galaxies which they had been part of for the two-thousand years the Anti-Spiral had inhabited this artificial dimension they created.

If any life at all existed in this universe, it all would have been extinguished by this strike.

But even so, the Super Tengen Toppa Giga Drill Driver and the Grand Avalon Giga Drill Driver continued to drill into each other, neither side backing down, the gods of evolution and stagnation in equal opposition to each other, as evidenced by the mutual opposition of the colors of blue and yellow. But their collective powers were double that of infinity, and the battle would likely last forever.

After an eternity, the galaxies and stars which had survived the initial collision were being slowly drawn in by the mass generated by the two dueling gods.

Drawn in to the point where the mass was most concentrated:

The points of the two dueling Giga Drills.

The Spiral Nemesis occuring within their own artificial universe nearly drove the entire Anti-Spiral race to madness, but it also drove the Anti-Spiral to further their goal: crushing the Super Galaxy Great Freedom Fighters.

And the Grand Avalon Giga Drill broke the Super Tengen Toppa Giga Drill, the Spiral drill turning into a field of pure golden Spiral flames.

And Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl emerged from this inferno, its flames also burning golden-yellow now, all of its skull-like faces in place now - apparently, every Super Galaxy Great Freedom Fighter was piloting Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl again.

And it brought back its right hand and, producing a Tengen Toppa Giga Drill, struck at the tip of the Grand Avalon Giga Drill.

The Anti-Spiral forced their energy even more powerfully upon the Tengen Toppa Giga Drill.

The Super Galaxy Great Freedom Fighters' roar was long and loud, and full of spirit...

The Grand Avalon Giga Drill _cracked_.

And the Anti-Spiral were filled with panic.

_**imIMP**_**os**s_Ibl__**ble!**_ their voices were slipping out of sync. _**our powE**_**R**_** w**__w_**a**_as__**as suppos**__was supposed__**ed to be**_e_be__** unb**_**UNBRE**_**reak**_a**b**_**le!**_

The Super Galaxy Great Freedom Fighters had now returned to their physical forms, Cosmo sitting across Tails's lap (her and Shadow's Emerls lay inactive beside Freedom Emerl in Typhoon Freedom Emerl's Spiral Engine).

And Tails - having realized something about Cosmo while they were in Super Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl - let tears flow freely as he spoke.

"MARK MY WORDS!" he shouted, affixing the Grand Avatar of Avalon with a steady gaze. "This drill will open a hole in the universe! And that hole... will become a path for those who come after us!

"The dreams of those who have fallen...!"

One stream of tears turned to blue energy, and in that energy could be seen images of Sonic, Knuckles, Lucus, the four Helix Generals, Jet, Storm, Wave, Molly, Tommy, Frances, Ray, Amy, Shade, the other Fremerald pilots who died, countless Black Arms, and the unnamed former pilots of the Emerls.

"The hopes of those who will follow...!"

The other stream of tears became red energy, which showed images of Silver, Blaze, Marine, Elias, Meg, Alexis, Mace, Demi-Na, Rutan, the other students of South Island, the hundreds of thousands of children born on the surface, and the countless as-yet-unborn children of the future.

"Those two sets of dreams weave together in a double-helix, _drilling a path towards tomorrow!_"

Those two streams of energy wove a double-helix around each other, emerging from Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl's third-eye gem, intertwining with the Tengen Toppa Giga Drill, which turned to gold.

The cracks in the Grand Avalon Giga Drill got deeper.

The shattered remnants of Super Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl - a head and its right arm - and Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl, and Super Galaxy Freedom Emerl, and Typhoon Freedom Emerl, and Freedom Emerl all bellowed in Tails's voice:

"And that's _breaking through the heavens_! _That's _Tengen Toppa! That's _Freedom Emerl_!"

Tails thrust Freedom Emerl's controls.

"_My drill is the drill... __**THAT CREATES THE HEAVENS!**_"

The Grand Avalon Giga Drill shattered, and Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl shot towards the gem in the Grand Avatar of Avalon's forehead.

Grand Avatar of Avalon slammed its staff on an invisible platform, several cobalt drills lancing out, forming hands at the end, tearing Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl to pieces.

Super Galaxy Freedom Emerl emerged from the golden flames, following Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl's old course.

Grand Avatar of Avalon's eyes shot out needle-like drills.

Super Galaxy Freedom Emerl was pinned down.

The panels beneath its eyes opened.

Typhoon Freedom Emerl blasted out.

Avatar of Avalon - surrounded by crimson flame - blasted several black drills from its mouth.

Typhoon Freedom Emerl was impeded from its mission.

The panels around where its mouth would be opened.

Freedom Emerl blasted out.

Like a giant matryoshka doll.

The gem in the Avatar of Avalon's forehead - that which guarded the Anti-Spiral homeworld of Avalon - erupted with countless drills.

Freedom Emerl produced a Giga Drill, smacking the drills aside.

But it, too, was overwhelmed.

"_FOX BOY!_" Shadow shouted, Freedom reaching up and wrenching Emerl free, the yellow of Freedom's body returning to silver as its arms and legs contracted.

Only one thing to do.

And Shadow had seen it before:

Cannonball Attack.

"_GOOOOooo...!_"

Emerl blasted straight through the crystal shield around Avalon, and entered the space inside the Avatar of Avalon's forehead.

Avalon was a gargantuan planet, built up over thousands of years until it was finally too large and too massive to orbit its own star, or even to exist without collapsing into itself without probability alteration algorithms to keep the planet at a pleasant Class 1 gravitational force. Much of the surface was covered with the stasis tubes containing every member of the Anti-Spiral race.

There.

There they were.

The Anti-Spiral.

They looked frightened.

Well, as frightened as a silhouette opening into chaotic nothing can appear.

They were only a couple miles away now.

Emerl produced a golden drill from its third eye.

Several tentacles lanced out from the Anti-Spiral's staff.

Emerl's arms and legs were ripped off, and Emerl was enwrapped in tentacles of thought.

And slammed facefirst into the steel surface of an alien world.

The canopy burst open, and carried by the forward momentum of the Cannonball Attack, Tails & Cosmo, his right hand wrapped around her left hand, charged.

"**FINAL...**" Tails shouted, his golden Spiral Power twisting to a point around their entwined fists. His star-shaped shades shattered.

"_GIGA..._" Cosmo continued, her own green Spiral Power twirling betwist and between Tails's, forming a drill of gold and green Spiral Energy.

"_**DRILL...**_" They both yelled, the energy becoming a pearl-white drill with four spiraling grooves, two glowing gold, the others glowing green. Their eyes glowed their respective Spiral Power colors.

"_**DRIVER!**_" The drill began to spin rapidly, Tails & Cosmo carried by force of will towards the Anti-Spiral even as the gestalt thought being sent more tentacles at them and finally brought its own staff up to defend itself...

Tails & Cosmo landed on the other side, a glowing-white hole punching straight through the Anti-Spiral's chest.

_**if this is how it must be**_, said the Anti-Spiral, their voices becoming weaker by the second, _**then please, p**__rotect the univ_erse, at all costs...

Tails did not face them, the Final Giga Drill dissolving.

"Of course we will," he said. "The Spiral races aren't _that_ stupid that they'd destroy the universe."

And the Anti-Spiral dissipated.

Tears streamed down Tails's face.

The conflict was finally over.

But killing Cosmo was the hardest thing he'd ever done in his life.

And everything began to collapse in on itself.

Almost immediately, a steel and glass coffin nearby began to rattle a little.

A pile of ornate purple robes laid in front of it.

As did a golden staff ending in a blue-green gem.

Tails marveled at the serendipity of it all.

He looked at Cosmo.

She looked at him.

She nodded.

_お前の__ＸＸＸ__よ、そそり立て！_

The spectacle in the sky showed what looked like an explosion and an implosion at the same time. The opening into the Anti-Spiral's universe collapsed inwards, the sky lighting up in fire that became a cross of light, and then it faded, the sky becoming night momentarily...

And then the color of the sky became blue, and all was right with the world.

Silver and Blaze smiled at each other warmly. They had no other words for each other. Years would follow in which they could talk to each other about this day and what it meant for Spiral life.

Alexis babbled happily.

Marine bounded up and down, putting one fist in the air, then the other.

Ash rested an arm around Mina's shoulders. She blushed, looked down at his hand, then smiled at him. He smiled back.

Cobar smiled serenely.

And in the rows of houses around them, the other New Government officials' comm channels went berserk.

Far above, in orbit of Möbius, a hodgepodge collection of starships appeared.

Super Galaxy Great Freedom, its entire left engine bank missing, its right eye cracked deeply...

The Blue Typhoon, its right engine cracked deeply, a dark streak down its hull...

Freedom, holding two Emerls in its hands...

And nineteen more Emerls, each containing a Möbian. Several of them floated beside a Star Gizoid.

The nineteenth held a steel-and-glass coffin.

"What happened?" asked Elias.

"It would seem that the energy that held together that universe between dimensions has gone away," Rotor explained.

The pilots of the Emerls found in the Death Spiral Field were perplexed at the steel coffin held by their first Emerl, but questions could wait for later.

Now, they were just relieved that it was all over.

Tails held Cosmo in his arms, and they were just happy to be near each other.

Just happy to be alive.

Silver appeared on Emerl's main screen. He looked harried, but overjoyed.

"Tails? Can you hear me? _Tails?_ We're receiving messages from across the galaxy! The freed Spiral races are sending us messages of joy! _We have so many friends out there!_"

Tails nodded, smiling to himself.

Tails looked at Cosmo.

Cosmo looked at Tails.

"It's over... Cosmo."

"Yes... Let's go home."

_魔導師マリーナ_

Minutes later, programming Super Galaxy Great Freedom to retreat to a point one-million miles away from Möbius so that its mass would not negatively affect the planet, the Super Galaxy Great Freedom Fighters descended to their homeworld.

The Emerls marched down the streets of Sonic City, and the recovering citizens cheered themselves hoarse at the conquering heroes who had did the impossible, seen the invisible, touched the untouchable, broke the unbreakable, fought the power, and saved the universe.

When they reached 121 Chestnut Lane, Elias & Meg threw themselves onto Blaze and embraced their infant Alexis tightly, the baby squealing with delight at the reunion with her parents.

Rotor & Cobar embraced tightly moments after Rotor climbed out of his Emerl, both joyful that neither was killed in the duration they were separated by battle.

Blaze and Marine were almost inconsolable with sorrow when they were told of Knuckles's death. It was agreed that a funeral service would be held the next day, to honor all those who had fallen fighting the Anti-Spiral.

Shadow emerged from Freedom, after setting down Cosmo's Emerl and his own, crossed his arms, and stood silently in the corner.

As soon as she bounded from her Emerl, Nicole - her old sniper rifle body lying forgotten in the cockpit - leapt onto Sally and kissed her full on the mouth. Sally was stunned by this forwardness, but the lynx girl pulled away before she could react any other way. Nicole gave Sally a look of boundless reverence and love, her hands on her maker's shoulders, traveling down her hips to her hands. They smiled warmly at each other.

Mighty, Espio, and Vector gave each other a high-five as soon as they emerged from their Emerls, beginning to discuss something about a _Chaotix Detective Agency_.

Lobo & Lupe, emerging from their Emerls, were bowled over by their children, Marcos and Maria. They were being looked over by one of the neighbors across the street from 121 Chestnut Lane, and were watching the battle intently from the moment the Avatar of Avalon appeared overhead.

Charmy and Cream, climbing out of their gun-gray Emerls, looked like they were twice as old as when they'd left. Many great friends had died in this battle, and they would not forget the sacrifices made. Especially not Molly's.

Chris climbed out of his Emerl, then helped Helen into her wheelchair, which was folded up in the back of hers. She rested a hand over his, and smiled at him. He smiled back, scratching the back of his head.

Big and Bark clamored from their Emerls, stood before each other, and gave each other a fist-bump.

Bean sprang from his Emerl, trying to do a handstand in his excitement, but falling over.

Ari climbed out, shook a couple hands, and smiled.

And Tails & Cosmo...

They left their Emerl - _the_ Emerl - last.

Tails strode out, stood atop his Emerl, and held his Core Drill to the sky.

"KICK COMMON SENSE OUT AND GO BEYOND THE IMPOSSIBLE!" everyone cheered. "THAT'S THE FREEDOM FIGHTER WAY!"

Tails smiled down on them all.

"Thank you," he said softly. "We lost a lot of people fighting the Anti-Spiral, but... we learned something fighting them:

"Spiral Power is destructive. If left unchecked, it could lead to the destruction of the universe. That's what the Spiral Nemesis is: every lifeform in the universe becoming a full-sized galaxy at the same time, and causing the universe to collapse into a black hole.

"We can't just do what we want with Spiral Power, just because we _can_. We can't _really_ kick common sense out _or_ go beyond the impossible; you saw what happened when we did with Super Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl."

Tails then bent down, hoisting out Cosmo, who was wearing his coat still, buttoned up to preserve her decency.

She was carrying a bundle of purple robes.

And a gold staff, tipped with a large blue-green gem.

"So..." Tails continued, bending over the steel-and-glass coffin in Emerl's arms.

"I brought one of the Avalonians here, so that they can see our new age of responsibility with Spiral Power."

A wave of shock and fear swept those present, and panicked responses broke out.

But Tails waved them off with a smile.

"Don't worry. She's just one out of five-hundred-trillion. She can't do anything anymore."

And he held up his Core Drill.

Most people thought that Tails would smash the glass open...

But he placed the Core Drill over a slot on the side of the stasis chamber...

And turned it.

The tube unlocked.

And a pale, slender hand grasped at the edge.

Reaching down, Tails picked out a pale - and nude - human girl, apparently in her mid-teens... but no human girl had naturally pointed ears, or naturally magenta hair. Her arms and shoulders bore intricate tattooes of ancient filigree that held no meaning to the Super Galaxy Great Freedom Fighters.

She was clearly very weak.

She blinked sunlight out of her eyes.

'Where... am I...?' she asked faintly, like a breath of wind, in a voice one could have heard out of Mercia.

"Why the _hell_ did you bring _her_?" Vector shouted angrily, and the Avalonian girl's arms, hanging at her sides, almost flew up to her ears.

Vector wasn't the only one. Bringing back one of the former Anti-Spiral race was not a popular decision, clearly. Sally and Nicole glared fiercely, holding hands, Charmy and Cream gave the girl hateful stares, and most people around generally seemed either nervous or angry about this. Only Rotor and Espio seemed calm about this, even curious.

"I _said_," Tails said, a shade of impatience in his tone, "That I brought her along so that she could see that the Anti-Spiral aren't the _only_ race that can be responsible with Spiral Power. But... we won't be as scary-dogmatic - or nearly as genocidal - about it."

He smirked.

"Who the hell do you think I am?"

He looked down at the girl from Avalon.

"What's your name?"

Her lips barely moved.

'M... Merlina... daughter of Marlon Merlin's son...' She cast her eyes about weakly. 'Where is... my staff...?'

Tails set Merlina down on her feet, but she would have fallen over almost immediately had Cosmo not handed her her staff, settling her robes about her shoulders, to keep her decent.

Merlina leaned heavily on her staff, which Tails helped to keep propped up.

'It is alright, man of the Spiral,' she said faintly. 'I am already trying to recover my Spiral Energy just enough to stand on my own.'

Already her skin was looking less clear and more its natural tone, but her grip on her staff was clearly weak.

Merlina faced Tails.

'So... You brought me, the President of Avalon with you, so that I may bear witness to your brand new world, Mister...?'

"My name is Miles Prower, but everyone calls me Tails."

'Mister Miles Prower.' Merlina nodded. 'Your parents had a strange sense of humour. Can someone please pass me a flower?'

Maria, Lupe's daughter, skipped to the front of Number 123, picked a marigold, and handed it to Merlina. Lupe pulled her away from the former President of Avalon quite quickly.

But Merlina had made no moves to attack Maria; indeed, she offered a soft _Thank you, child_ to the wolf-girl, bringing the flower to her nose and inhaling deeply.

'Your flowers have a peculiar, but not unenjoyable scent here. I suppose... I shall have to get used to it.'

_葬儀_

The next day...

The tears ran freely as those friends and family of those who died consoled each other in their grief.

The Wandering Orphans had lost their founding member, Knuckles The Echidna of Gawain Village.

The Fremerald Squadron was a shell of its former self with almost half of its forces killed by the Anti-Spiral in their various attacks.

It was decided that a burial site would be dedicated to them at the site where Great Freedom was taken.

Where Sonic died.

Photographs of the fallen sat atop a white plinth one-hundred feet from the katana marking Sonic's grave, high-relief sculptures of those warriors on the side carved with Tails's Core Drill. Knuckles was at the lead, a drill emerging from his right fist as spirals swirled in his eyes.

"E-excuse me... Tails?"

Tails turned.

It was a red fox girl.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Fiona Fox, from Knothole," she said.

And Tails remembered.

"Oh, yeah! You were a part of that posse that thought I was a weird, dirty little kid."

Fiona averted her eyes.

"Yeah, about all that... Sorry. We treated you like shit, and now you saved us all. What I gotta say is..." She smiled at him, and there was something almost alluring about it. "I'm grateful, is all."

Tails was stunned. He had not even known this girl's name, and she tracked him down here to _apologize_ after all this time?

He smiled.

"Don't sweat it. Sonic wouldn't have wanted anyone to hold a grudge like that."

They shook hands and parted ways. Returning to his seat, Tails saw Sally & Nicole holding hands.

The funeral service was filled with speeches and tears from loved ones for loved ones who had been killed in battle against the Anti-Spiral, but only two would be truly notable.

Cosmo strode up softly to the podium set up before the plinth, and said:

"Thank you."

Those two words summed up her gratitude, not for herself, but for all Spiral life that could live now because they had sacrificed themselves.

The last speech was given by the last person anyone expected to be there.

Merlina strode quietly up to the microphone, trying to pretend that those intense stares were focused on the mountain range behind her and not on her.

Drawing herself up to her full height, Merlina - her bearing as steady now as it was at the height of her regime as President, two-thousand years before - addressed those who wished her nothing but ill:

'All these fine men and women, dead because of my race... I am sure that they were excellent to know in life, and this universe is lesser without them. I assure you all that your feelings towards me are entirely justified, and that I actually feel I deserve even _greater_ resentment from you, Spiral races of Möbius. I admit that my race's actions these past twenty-hundred years were extreme, perhaps even reactionary. I only offer my sincere regrets for the losses of your great men and women at the hands of my own race, and at the hands of Lucus Darkoak and his Black Arms.

'However, I do not believe that we Avalonians were entirely in the wrong. Rampaging evolution _will _destroy the universe, as my grandfather discovered, and I am not entirely convinced that the Spiral races of Möbius have the resolve to willfully restrict their own Spiral Power. In our battles, I noticed that they sought victory only by applying much greater amounts of Spiral Energy, reaching higher and higher to ensure their triumph. I can only hope that this attitude towards Spiral Power is different in times of peace, lest the deaths of these fine warriors be in vain.'

Merlina closed her eyes as she finished, expecting catcalls and jeers and hate-filled declarations that she did not deserve to be anywhere near this white tomb.

Instead, she got a small amount of applause.

It was not much - only Tails, Cosmo, and Shadow clapped, and they stopped rather quickly - but it was better than vitriol.

The rest gave her neutral, unreadable expressions.

Not wanting to test her luck, she strode quickly down from the podium, pulling up her purple hood.

She faced Tails.

'I can only hope you know what you are doing, Miles.'

Tails smiled warmly at her, putting out a hand.

"We can do it, Merlina. Just give this a shot: Try _believing _in us Spiral races."

Merlina looked at his hand in wonder, then - wearing an angelic smile - she took his hand and shook it.

"We don't have to go crazy restricting Spiral Power, but we're not gonna be completely dependent on it, either. We'll take the middle road. We'll work to evolve ways to use _less_ Spiral Power and still get stuff done effectively."

Merlina nodded, her staff resting on her shoulder as she brought up her hand and smelled the marigold again.

It was still bright and alive, even now.

'Yes...'

She looked to the skies.

'Grandfather...'

**つづく  
To be continued...**

* * *

次回予告  
Next Episode Preview

The fighting is over, and the Spiral races are allowed to live life the way they want to live it...

But Spiral Power, like all other types of power, comes with responsibility.

Next time on _Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl_: _**"Thank You, Everyone"**_.


	36. Chapter 35

_(Chapter Thirty-Five! The final battle is over..._

_But every story must end somewhere. Just this chapter and an epilogue, and that's it. The Epilogue will not have an Author's Note, so I will say this now:_

_Thank You, for sticking through with this experiment to the end. Thank you, Zaru. Thank you, Axel-of-the-Fantasy. Thank you, Michael J.J. Thank you, R0ckNR011. Thank you all for bearing with me for so long._

_Also, read the _Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann_ fanfiction,_ The Moon Is Made Of Honey_. It's a brilliant fanfiction that deals with Nia's wish at the end of the series, and really impacted this chapter._

_Also, today marks the four-month anniversary of this baby turning up here at EffEffDotNet... And it's reawakened my muse! Looks like it's _not_ my swan song here after all!_

_See you all real soon!_

_And thank you so much for reading!)_

* * *

_**11:8:3243**_

_Dear Sonic,_

_I will be marrying Tails today._

**CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE:  
Thank You, Everyone**

Cosmo placed her pen down, closing her diary of letters to Sonic.

It was a week now since Tails had rescued her from the Anti-Spiral and saved the universe from stagnating itself to death.

A week and a day since the Möbiankind Annihilation System was deactivated.

Three weeks and a day since the System was activated.

Since she had become the Anti-Spiral Messenger program.

Now, she was done with her diary.

She was finished.

Her right hand began to dissolve into pixels.

She clenched her left hand over it, stemming the flow.

When she removed her left hand, her right was exactly as it was before.

_Just a little longer, okay?_ she said to herself.

'Cosmo?'

Merlina strode in, clutching her staff in her hand. Her hair was in a long braided ponytail.

"Miss Merlina..."

Cosmo bore Merlina no ill will. The former Overmind of the Anti-Spiral had graciously accepted the slings and arrows of Möbian resentment, and decided that one of the first steps she could take to healing would be to weave Cosmo's wedding dress.

'It is nearly time,' Merlina said.

"Yes. It is."

While Merlina helped Cosmo into the newly-woven wedding dress, they spoke about Cosmo's status as a digital Spiral being.

Cosmo said that she & Tails had reached their decision the previous night.

Merlina nodded in resignation at their decision.

'This is a wise decision, Miss Darkoak,' said Merlina, adjusting Cosmo's veil. 'But... will Tails go through with it?'

Cosmo smiled.

"I believe he will."

Merlina smiled back.

'If you do, then I will.'

"Cosmo."

Sally, in a simple black three-piece suit, her ponytail of more than seven years now cut down to a simple shoulder-length style, glared at Merlina as the Avalonian retreated out the door, avoiding Nicole's eye as she passed.

"Wait, Miss Avalon," Nicole said, quietly but sharply.

Merlina stopped, facing the lynx who was once digital. While Merlina was wearing the same purple robes she had when she was President of Avalon, Nicole was wearing a white strapless top, a long white skirt decorated with a gilded cross, wooden sandals, and golden rings on her wrists and ankles.

'So... you and Miss Acorn are...?'

"Yes," said Nicole, the faintest of blushes visible through the brown fur on her face. "But that's not important right now. How did you make that wedding dress so fast? You were certainly not working on it this whole week since you came to Möbius."

Merlina shook her head.

'I asked Miss Cosmo for her measurements the day before yesterday, designed the dress yesterday, and physically rendered it just this morning.'

"Rendered it...?" Nicole's eyebrows raised slightly. "A _digital_ dress?"

Merlina nodded slightly.

'Yes. She is still a digital being, so it seemed only fitting.'

"And... is Tails going to turn her into a flesh-and-blood being during the wedding? It would be simple; I was a program once, remember? Sally programmed me with her preferred personality traits and the information about our planet, but I became a Spiral being in the Super Spiral Universe. So, Tails will make Cosmo a Spiral being again... right?"

But Merlina turned away and walked off, leaving Nicole's question unanswered.

She did not want to lie, or tell an unpleasant truth.

In Cosmo's dressing room, Sally had to smile as she looked up and down Cosmo's dress.

"I have to admit, she did a good job with that, Cosmo. I don't think I've ever seen you prettier."

Cosmo held the bouquet of roses to her chest. Her ring glinted white.

"Thank you, Miss Sally."

She held out her diary.

"Here."

Sally took it, and opened it up to the first page.

"Eighth day of the seventh month, year thirty-two-thirty-six... Dear Sonic... Are you doing well?... (Well, I suppose that is an odd question to ask you...) I have decided to start this journal, because..."

Her eyes widened.

"This is your _diary_, Cosmo!"

Cosmo nodded.

"And it would make me happiest if _you_ had it, Miss Sally."

Sally looked down at Cosmo's diary, resting a hand on the cover gingerly, as though the book would dissipate. Closing her eyes briefly, she smiled at Cosmo.

"Thank you, but... shouldn't you give this to _Tails_ instead?"

Cosmo inhaled the scent of her bouquet, also digital. Also made for her by Merlina.

"Tails already knows everything that's in my heart."

_涙の種、笑顔の花_

Tails, in a simple white suit, ran his hand over Emerl's face slowly, gently, the Core Machine set into the cubbyhole beside Freedom.

He gave Emerl one last smile, and slipped his Core Drill into his breast pocket.

Things were going to have to go just right today.

Minutes later, he stood at the gazebo, the other Freedom Fighters standing at attendance. Only those who had been in the Freedom Fighters since the battle against the Helix King were in attendance; Alexis, Nicole, and Cobar were the sole exceptions. Silver was presiding as priest; he had received basic wedding training as the son of High Priest Aurum, and had presided over a few in the past.

Cosmo, followed by Sally & Nicole, strode up the red carpet laid out before her, petals of the nearby cherry blossom trees falling around her.

She stopped next to Tails, smiling brightly at him.

He mirrored her smile.

And Silver began.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today..."

The time passed, and Tails & Cosmo exchanged their vows, and rings were exchanged - Merlina served as ringbearer - and then...

Tails & Cosmo shared their first kiss as husband and wife.

Everyone cheered. Charmy did a loop-de-loop over their heads.

But Sally - holding Nicole's hand - gasped, then the two of them started shouting, but their shouts were drowned out amongst the cheers.

Tails & Cosmo drifted apart, staring into each other's eyes.

The cheers faltered, replaced by murmurs of confusion.

Pixels were trailing off of Cosmo, empty patches of air where skin and dress should have been.

But Cosmo's eyes sparkled with love.

"Thank you, Tails," she said gently.

"I'll never forget you, Cosmo. Even if the universe ends," he replied.

"Don't be silly. It won't end. That's what we all fought so hard for," she smiled, the pixels having eaten away her midsection and half of her legs now, but still she smiled at him.

Tails nodded in consent. "Yeah. You're right," he chuckled.

"We've had a lot of fun together, Tails. It's funny... All I can see right now... is everyone smiling."

"Cosmo..." For a brief moment, Tails's eyes sparkled with grief, but it was quickly buried by a blink.

Cosmo met his eyes. One last time.

"I love you, Tails," she said, the roses on either side of her head wilting and, petal by petal, drifting away in the wind and dissipating into pixels of light.

"Yeah. I love you, too... Cosmo."

Cosmo smiled. One last time...

And then she was gone, nothing left but pixels that faded away in the light of the sun.

_klink_

The golden ring, set with a white seed-shaped diamond bounced to the ground, landing at Sally's feet.

"_Tails..._" she murmured, looking up at the gazebo, inside of which was a single two-tailed fox in a suit of white pressed linen, and a silver hedgehog wearing priest's robes and an expression of disbelief.

Silence fell over them. No one could see Tails's expression; he was looking out the opposite end of the gazebo.

Then he looked up, and took a breath - shuddering with sorrow? - and said in a bright, level tone:

"Thank you, everyone. We were very happy together."

Shouts of protest, of confusion and grief rang out.

"Come on, guys," Tails said, waving a hand as everyone quieted down. "We knew this was going to happen. Not just me & Cosmo. We _all_ knew."

"But... it's not fair!" cried Cream, wiping away tears.

Tails still did not turn, but continued, "We knew that defeating the Anti-Spiral meant this would happen."

Shadow folded his arms, the only one not to cheer (not that he was not happy for the marriage), "Cosmo was a virtual being created by the Anti-Spiral." As Shadow said this, glares affixed themselves on Merlina as she strode around the Freedom Fighters. "I think it's a marvel that she lasted as long as she did."

"She was always a very tough girl," Rotor said softly, his head tilted in homage to Cosmo's sacrifice.

"So then..." Charmy spoke up, flitting to the ground. "So why don't you use the Power of the Spiral?"

Tails faced them all now.

And he was _smiling_.

Charmy continued, "You can use it to bring back Cosmo! And not just _her_! Everyone _else_ that we lost! Sonic! Knuckles!" Charmy's eyes swam with tears. "_Molly..._"

'Miles is not God, nor should he try to be,' said Merlina, stopping short of the gazebo, not daring to stand anywhere near where Cosmo did.

But Charmy glared at her.

"You did this." He raised his fist, intent to strike. "You did this to—!"

"Stop."

Tails had strode down between Charmy and Merlina, raising a hand calmly. Silver followed behind, closing his father's holy book.

"This is what Cosmo wanted," Tails said simply. "We talked last night..."

* * *

_"Tails... I want you... to let me die tomorrow. I'm going to let myself pass on, and I want you to let me go."_

_Tails's eyes nearly popped out of his head, tears spilling like waterfalls down his face._

_"Cosmo... Why...? Didn't I _promise _you...?" he sniffled. "I promised you..." He slammed his fist on the bedpost, snapping it off. "I PROMISED YOU THAT WE'D ALL BE HAPPY ON MÖBIUS!"_

_"Tails..." Cosmo took Tails's head and rested it on her chest._

_"Cosmo... In Super Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl... I evolved into a pure Spiral being." And for a moment, Tails turned into a fox of golden energy, tears of blood-red energy. His two tails seemed to split into nine while he was an energy being. _**I COULD **_**BRING you**__ back, as a Spiral being, if you wanted..."_

_Cosmo looked into his eyes._

_"It would be nice, to be with you forever, Tails."_

_"Then tell me I _can_, and I _will_!"_

_"And then you would bring back Sonic, and Knuckles, and your parents, and everyone else that died?"_

_"Why not?"_

_"Then what of our children? Will there be space for them, on Möbius, with all the people who have died brought back from the land of the dead, whether they _wanted_ to come back, or not?"_

_Tails faltered at this._

_"Well... I'd find a world where there _is_ enough space! You and me and our kids can fly around the stars forever!"_

_"And after that world? And the next?"_

_Tails had no answer._

_"If you just keep bringing back the dead," Cosmo explained, "There will not be enough space for the living. And if you try too hard to create a world where there _is_ enough space.."_

_"Spiral Nemesis..." Tails mumbled._

_"And I do not imagine that the other Spiral races of the universe would appreciate that, Tails," Cosmo added._

* * *

"So just bring _Cosmo_ back, then!" Charmy cried exasperatedly. "Just Cosmo, and no one else, then!"

Tails shook his head, smiling sadly.

"Cosmo dealt with _that_, too..."

* * *

_"Just you, then. I just bring _you_ back, or turn you into a Spiral being here and now, and - I'm sorry - I won't be able to introduce you to Sonic. Or to my parents."_

_Tails knew he was grasping at straws now, and knew Cosmo would refuse, but he wanted to hear her explain it in that beloved voice of hers._

_"Tails, I was my father's doll, but that was not my choice. It wasn't really me," she said, smiling as though they were wondering what color wallpaper to get. "I was the Anti-Spiral's Messenger program, but that was not my choice, either, and that was not me, either. I could choose to be the harbinger of the Spiral Nemesis, the first to be brought back until the universe is overflowing, but that will not be my choice, for it would not be me. And I would not choose to cheat death by becoming a pure Spiral being like you, because that is not me, either. That is not who I wish to be. I wish to live and love - and die - like everyone else, and unfortunately, my time has come too soon."_

_"But, _Cosmo_!" Tails screamed, his eyes becoming tornadoes of gold energy. "I can't _live_ without you! I can't just let you _die_! Who do you think I saved the _universe _for?"_

_"You will never be without me, Tails," she said, stroking his head. "I will always be in your heart. With Sonic, and Knuckles, and everyone else who died so that Spiral life could live." She gave Tails a sad smile. "Like my father. And as for the universe, keep saving it on your own, after I have died. Please do not destroy the universe for me. I do not imagine the Spiral races of the universe would be grateful for your keeping the secret of resurrection for your own usage."_

_Tails sobbed into Cosmo's chest, the despair at Cosmo's imminent loss falling from his eyes._

_"This is my last wish, Tails," she said softly. "I will leave this world, but I will always be in your heart. So, be glad for the times we had together, and... plant seeds, and grow flowers, around the world, with your drill in hand. It is a selfish request, but—"_

_"It's not selfish," Tails said, and the tears now were tears of joy and gratitude. "It's what I would have done anyway._

_"Alright, Cosmo. If you want to go into my heart, then you can."_

_And he embraced her, tightly._

_"I love you so much. I'm so glad I met you."_

_"Me, too," she said, pulling the blanket over both of them._

* * *

Everyone - least of all Charmy - was stunned by the argument that Cosmo had put forward to Tails just the previous night.

'Miss Cosmo did not tell me the full details as I was dressing her up for this, Miles,' Merlina said. 'She really was of strong will, then, to allow herself to pass on when her time has come.'

And she smiled at Tails.

'And you showed me the ultimate test of your will, Miles Prower. You've proven that you have the resolve to restrict your own Spiral Power when necessity allows for it.'

Mighty raised a fist, "Don't you _dare_ say it was a _good _thing that Cosmo died, you—"

"Let her be, Mighty," Tails said forcefully.

Merlina closed her eyes.

'I truly do regret this, Möbian Spiral races. I wish far more than all of you that Miles & Cosmo could have a long, happy life together. Unfortunately, my race chose her mother to be a carrier of the Messenger program gene, and so it passed to her.

'But think first. Were Miles to bring back Cosmo - and only Cosmo - would there be no small amount of bitterness across the planet that their lost loved ones must stay buried? Would you not have something to say about it?'

People glared, but did not protest. Everyone present had lost someone dear to war and bloodshed, and in all honesty, every one of them would be bitter if Tails only resurrected Cosmo.

"And if only our Freedom Fighter comrades who died were brought back," Tails continued, "People across Möbius would be angry at us for keeping the secret of resurrection, and I'm sure someone would be angry enough to murder me in my sleep for keeping it locked up."

"And, if we were to only bring _Möbians_ back to life...?" asked Espio.

'That would be akin to asking the other Spiral races of the universe to destroy you all,' Merlina answered. 'They would be reacting out of mixed anger at their deceased loved ones being kept dead because of the selfishness of one planet, and fear at the encroachment of the Spiral Nemesis if this persisted. You would all be destroyed - or destroy the universe itself in your desperate bid to defend your unapologetic way of life.

'And if the secret of resurrection were to not _be_ a secret, but as common as a birth... The universe would quickly run out of space for life. And, as Cosmo reasoned, as people utilise more and more Spiral Energy to forcibly _create_ more room for life... the possibility of the Spiral Nemesis becomes more of a question of _when?_ than of _if?_.'

"Basically," Tails said, "People who are dead are dead. If we bring them back, they'll just get in the way of the next generation. And... Cosmo wouldn't have wanted to come back anyway. She died when she stood against the Anti-Spiral in Tengen Toppa White Seed. Her last wish... I will honor it."

Elias faced Merlina.

"Is resurrection even _possible_ with Spiral Power?"

Merlina faced Elias.

'I would not know,' she said. 'My race is not known for taking risks with Spiral Energy. But I would advise that resurrection remain an impossibility.'

She looked around them.

'I wish you the best of luck in this endeavour. May the flower of the Spiral always bloom.'

And without another word, she departed for regions unknown, her staff leaving a trail of potholes in the dirt.

"She was right," Tails said. "She was _always_ right. Her actions were extreme, to be sure, but she had good intentions. Her and her people."

And he placed something in Charmy's hand as he passed.

Charmy knew what it was.

And his eyes bugged, and his jaw dropped.

Without turning, Tails said, "It's all down to you now, Silver."

Silver looked shocked. "Tails...?"

Tails faced him, a serious look on his face. "You're the Supreme Commander of the New Government, Silver, but I'm just Miles Prower: Tails the Digger." He smiled, unbuttoning his linen jacket. "There's someone right here better suited to traveling the holes that I dug."

Charmy opened his hand. The Core Drill glinted green in the sunlight.

"You can count on me," Silver said sharply, nodding.

Tails cast off his linen jacket, producing his long blue jacket - the one Cosmo had worn in the Super Spiral Universe - and tying it around his shoulder.

Rotor smiled sadly.

"It was fun while it lasted, Tails," he murmured.

"Tails!" Sally called out, tossing Cosmo's ring towards him.

Without turning, Tails caught it, Kukku flitting onto his shoulder.

He was off, to live Cosmo's dream of covering the world with flowers.

But she had gotten a head-start on Tails.

She had planted a seed of tears in his heart.

But she had watered it with the water of love, and Tails knew that one day, that tiny seed of tears would bloom into a big flower of smiles.

And it would be there, in his heart...

Forever more.

And so Miles "Tails" Prower left the Freedom Fighters...

And never looked back.


	37. Epilogue

**EPILOGUE:  
The Lights In The Sky Are Stars**

"The Pan-Galactic Spiral Peace Conference..." Rotor said, looking out over Mobotropolis, the New Capital that was built a short distance from Sonic City. "I hope it goes well..."

"We may all be Spiral races," said Silver, feeling the gray stubble on his chin, "But we are all from different parts of the universe, and we all have different ways of thinking. In the end, it's taken twenty years to put together."

"And it would have been impossible for anyone else," smiled Cobar, "President Silver."

Silver looked at the aging couple beside him. Rotor's whiskers were drooping, and Cobar's fur was losing its color. They were not young anymore, and neither was he. Silver had arthritis in his right wrist, and he was developing premature wrinkles from all this governmental heavy-lifting.

But it would all be worth it one day, when he and his Blaze - and their Aurora - could take to the stars and meet with other Spiral lifeforms.

"I wonder... where _he_ is right now..." Silver wondered aloud.

Silver had not seen Tails since that day when Cosmo faded away, and neither had any of his fellow Freedom Fighters.

"Don't worry," Rotor said, placing his hand over Cobar's. "He's out there, I'm sure, watching over us. That's the kind of man he is."

_熱砂の荒野を抜けて大グレン団が行くのだ_

The drill on the end of the old wooden staff seemed to spin on its own, making no impression in the bedrock whatsoever.

To the other diggers, it seemed to flash gold for the briefest of moments, then...

The bedrock broke.

And water gushed out.

"Water!"

"It's _water_!"

"This guy's _amazing_! He broke through the bedrock on his own!"

High-fives went all around.

But the one who had broke through the bedrock - a man of indeterminate age, a fox with two tails, wearing a simple golden ring set with a seed-shaped diamond on a string around his neck - merely wiped his brow and began to follow the scaffolding back to the surface.

The cheering had already reached up here.

The chief of this above-ground village, an old heron, bowed in gratitude.

"Thank you, kind sir," he said in a gravelly voice. "Now, our village will not have to go thirsty. If only there was some way we could repay you—"

"Flowers."

The old heron tilted his head. "Huh?"

"Plant seeds and grow flowers," said the two-tailed digger, his Light Chao returning to his side. "That's all I ask."

"Y-yes, sir. Of course, sir," the heron chief said shakily, the nearby radio announcing the latest exploit of the Super Galaxy Chaotix Detective Agency.

_サリーとニコール_

The hologram showed a red-furred echidna in his mid-twenties, dressed in a white-and-blue skintight suit called a 'plugsuit'.

"This is Mace," he said, saluting. "Me and Demi-Na have been chosen for the Fremerald Squadron to represent Möbius at the PGSPC. We won't allow the Spiral Nemesis to occur." He smiled. "I'll see you later, Miss Alicia. Miss Nicole."

Sally smiled at her wife of eighteen years, Nicole, and they shared a warm smile, looking out the window as the hologram faded away. Their relationship had begun awkwardly, with Nicole's first true outburst of emotion as a Spiral lifeform, and had developed over the years into this.

The students departed for the day, waving to Sally & Nicole.

"Good-bye, Miss Nicole!"

"See ya, Principal Alicia!"

"_Bye!_"

"See you tomorrow!"

Sally & Nicole waved them off happily.

_チャーミーとクリーム_

"Rutan, get off of Demi-Na's case!" Cream said sharply. "Her personal matters with Mace are personal, and should be on a strictly need-to-know basis!"

"I was just playin'," shrugged Rutan.

Charmy sighed, fingering the Core Drill around his neck.

It was not one of the Core Drills that helped form Tengen Toppa Fremerald.

Cream had really taken to giving orders to these Fremerald recruits for the PGSPC. Then again, they had to make a good impression. They started out, last week, by declaring the Emerls found in the Anti-Spiral's Death Spiral Field to be neutral items, that no one Spiral race could use, and would be locked away in a museum somewhere, their Core Drills locked away at a separate location. This would go far to alleviate whatever tensions that would exist.

Of course, Freedom Emerl was exempt. It was the emblem of freedom across the universe now, and respect for it far outpaced fear of it.

Breaking from his reverie, Charmy faced Cream.

"So, is that everyone?" he asked.

"We're waiting on Allie," she said, and at just that moment, a squirrel girl with red hair and a large, bushy tail burst in, wearing a pink plugsuit.

"Sorry I'm late!" cried Alexis Acorn.

"Better late than never," Charmy smiled.

Cream seemed to think now was not a good time to press the issue of punctuality.

She smiled up at Freedom.

Charmy smiled up at Emerl.

"It's finally time, right, Charmy?" she sighed.

"Yeah."

They both looked beyond, to the stars, where the Super Galaxy Great Freedom waited in orbit for them...

_シャドウ_

"Captain," said Helen, her new mechanical leg-braces squeaking a little as she turned to face the black-and-red hedgehog-shaped creature in his highly decorated blue suit, "The Fremerald Squadron are about to launch from the surface with Freedom Emerl in the lead."

Shadow smiled.

"Alright."

He had not aged at all in those twenty years. To be honest with himself, it was depressing to think that everyone present was going to die one day, while he himself would live forever, never aging, never making any lasting friends.

But - Shadow thought - that just made it all the more reason to enjoy the time he had with them.

And he understood completely why Tails let Cosmo go.

Shadow returned to the present, addressing the main engineer, a young wolf-man named Marcos.

"Spin up the Super Spiral Engines!" he ordered. "As soon as the Fremerald Squadron are aboard, Super-Teleport into deep space!"

Marcos gave him the Freedom Fighters salute - a thumbs-up with the right hand - and the monitor winked out.

Shadow addressed the main bridge now, giving them the Freedom Fighter salute. He grinned as well, for effect.

"We're representing Möbius out there. Put some spirit into it, people!"

They saluted him as well.

_マリーナ_

Merlina, in a simple red dress with white trim that went down to her knees, walked along the pathway through the old volcanic soil, using her staff for support as usual. She carried a bundle of flowers in her other arm.

In time, she came to her destination.

The white plinth, etched with a hurdle of heroes charging forward, led by a ferocious echidna with a drill for a right arm.

In the distance, there stood a katana with the shredded remains of a red cape decorated with a flaming skull with pointed shades. The volcanic soil in which Sonic was buried was very fertile; a cluster of bluebells had sprouted around the katana.

Nearest to Merlina, though, was a simple white tombstone, which bore the mark of a white seed and read:

_**THE FLOWERS ARE FOR COSMO**_

Roses grew around it.

Merlina set the bundle of flowers at Cosmo's grave, wiping a tear away and brushing a strand of graying magenta hair behind a pointed ear.

'What a magnificent world you have created, Cosmo,' she said, smiling at Cosmo's final resting place, 'You and Miles have created a heaven where the Spiral may forever bloom, and never wither.'

_テイルスとマイルス_

The fox who was once called Miles "Tails" Prower wandered the streets, looking for a place to settle down for the night. He reached the beach at the edge of town, palm trees dotting the edges of the streets. He had dug out a well for a village some miles out from here, and...

There.

Was that...?

It was a small boy, with reddish hair and... were his ears _pointed_?

Tails smiled. Merlina had found a man who would love her for her, and not hate her for having been a mind in the Anti-Spiral. Or perhaps a less dogmatic selection of Avalonians had fled to and persevered on Möbius for the past two thousand years...

The kid was trying to drill a hole in a coconut held between his feet, but the drill kept sliding off. The boy was beginning to make crying noises.

"What's wrong, kid?" asked Tails, approaching.

The kid started, looking up at the mysterious hooded fox man. The boy had no nose; evidently males of Avalonian descent were very close in appearance to Cosmo's race. Perhaps Avalonians and Seedrians were cousin Spiral races...

'I can't drill a hole in this thing,' he said in his faintly accented voice.

Tails sighed, dropping to his knees, the chains tied around his pants clinking together.

"You're putting too much force behind it," he explained. "Try turning the drill more gently."

The kid returned to his drilling, but more slowly and gently.

'Like this?' he said.

Moments later, the drill punched a hole in the coconut.

'It worked!' the kid smiled; he was missing a tooth. 'You're awesome, mister!'

Tails smiled. "Of _course_ it worked. Who the hell do you—"

But the kid was draining the coconut of its milk already. When he was done, he smacked his lips, not even looking at Tails anymore.

'Yummy!' squeaked the kid.

Tails smiled wearily to himself.

"Nah, guess I'm nobody anymore."

Green lights lit off from across the water.

From Mobotropolis.

Green comets were streaking in tight formation, in a tightening spiral as they set for the Super Galaxy Great Freedom, waiting in orbit.

_So, Silver's done it_, Tails thought. _I knew he could._

'Whoa! Look!' the kid's eyes were sparkling as he waved up at the far distant heroes. 'It's Freedom Emerl! Look at all the Freedom Emerls! Are they going to battle? Will they win?'

Tails stood up again, resting on his shoulder the drill-staff he had fashioned from a wooden stick he'd found the week after Cosmo faded into his heart, and from the old hand drill he'd found at the Mystic Plateau in the wreckage of a Gizoid that was once called Zheuque.

"No," he said simply. "They aren't going to battle, but they _will_ win over friends."

'Friends?' said the boy eagerly, as the green comets disappeared into the golden flagship. 'Can I go meet them, too?'

Tails smiled.

"Of course you can," said Tails. "The lights in the heavens are _not _enemies. The lights in the sky are stars."

Kukku emerged from the folds of Tails's brown cloak, his ball a floating yellow orb of light now that he had evolved into a Light Chao.

"Chao!" Kukku said.

"Yeah, they're stars," Tails went on. "Stars where our Spiral cousins are waiting for us."

Super Galaxy Great Freedom vanished in a flash of green light that momentarily turned the night sky green.

He looked down at the magenta-haired boy.

"What's your name, kid?"

The boy pouted.

'No!'

"Your name is 'No'?" Tails joked. "Whatever your name is, it's one to be proud of, I'm sure."

'My name is _Miles_!' said the boy in a disgusted tone.

Smiling appreciatively at Merlina's train of thought, Tails stared Miles in the eye.

Miles was stunned. This fox man had different-coloured eyes. His right eye was as blue as the sky, with a large, black pupil, but his left eye was _gold_, with a glowing, spiral-shaped pupil.

"Miles is a name to be proud of, kid," Tails said to Miles. "You'll want to treasure the name your parents gave to you. That, and it's _my _name, too."

'Really?'

"Yeah," Tails said. "By the way, would it be an inconvenience to ask for a place to stay tonight?"

'Daddy will be okay with it,' Miles said, 'Because Mummy's off doing her year thingy where she goes somewhere and comes back a day or two later.'

"Sounds good," Tails smiled. "But before we head off, perhaps you'd like to hear a story?"

'I have to be home in twenty minutes!'

"Then I can tell you _part_ of the story, and next week, we can meet up again and continue?"

'Okay, mister!'

Tails sat down beside Miles, who folded his hands eagerly.

'What kind of story is it?' he asked excitedly.

Tails set down his drill-staff, ruffling Kukku on the side of the head...

And began:

"This is the tale of a man who has yet to realize what his destiny is..."

**完  
The End**


End file.
